Uptown World, Vol I: Friends And Foes
by Pinguin1993
Summary: Turned human. Transferred to our dimension, additionally to Germany. Not enough? Add a crazy fan girl, a gay couple and an evil street gang to the mix, along with hurt souls, held-back issues, and many broken bones. So yeah. 1st in the Uptown World Saga.
1. Prologue

_Hey Guys! I'm at the moment rewriting this. Chapter 1-4 are new, the rest is still in work. Before I'm finished there'll be no updates, but it won't be long anymore. Hold on. :-) To everyone who already knows the story: There'll be only minor details changed. Like my horrible language... Uuh.

* * *

All the world's a stage  
And all the men and women merely players  
That have their exits and their entrances..  
[William Shakespeare]

* * *

_**Prologue**

_**

* * *

**_

_**Earth, Germany, winter 2010**_

I hate winter time.I mean, no, I don't. I like the winter. I like the snow crushing under my feet, I like when it's white and clean everywhere for the first few hours after the snow fell. I love to have long walks because it's all quiet and peaceful. No one is out except for furry dogs and laughing kids. The atmosphere is wonderful.

There is just one think I like more than snow- warmth.

And, depressing as it is, it's a fact that when there is snow, the sun went on vacation. Means it is not warm. And this, to come to the final conclusion, is why I sit in my room in front of a computer and freeze to death. Which would be a tragedy, a loss for mother earth, and.. You get the message.

With a sigh I close my laptop, causing it to shut down. A walk would be nice. Winter clothes… Thick boots… It doesn't make a difference to my situation at hand. Call me crazy, but it actually seems to be warmer out there than it is inside this big house all alone. Honestly, I am wrapped tight into two blankets and the thought of watering my shoes with snow seems like summer vacation for me. I bet my heating's broken. I'll have to call a mechanic or something. Another sigh escapes my lips- this is just great.

I have holidays now- well, I have a private teacher, but anyway. My mum and dad went off for work and left me alone, and they don't want anyone to sneak in and maybe steal something. My mum's pretty paranoid. So no one's here except for a cleaning lady and the cook who stops by twice a day to feed me.

Help me! I'm bored!

- Okay, the second I start talking to imaginary audience is definitely the time I need to _get out._

**Earth, USA, summer ? (is this even the same Universe?)**

"-with this new modifications. In fact, we'd be able to literally dematerialize and rematerialize at another place and maybe even time… We could watch out founding fathers sign the declaration of independence! Maybe we can discover a cure for cancer… Or sneak into Einstein's lab…"

Hamato Michelangelo moves uneasily from one side to another while he listens to his brother. He hates to admit it, but he only understands about half of what he is told. This doesn't disturb Hamato Donatello at all, though. The mutated teenage turtle genius just goes on rambling, underlined with dramatic gestures and a swinging wrench, while he adjusts more screws on this _biggest machine ever. _That's Mikey's name for it. He came up with the idea right after the first glance, and he's pretty proud of himself.

"Uh, Leo", he whispers towards his oldest brother. Hamato Leonardo sits next to him on the old blue couch, reading a book. He doesn't even look up now, but a slight nod indicates that he's listening. So Mikey goes on. "What", he whispers, "is he _talking about?"_

"Time travels, I think", Leo murmurs absent mindedly only to add euphorically, "but did you know that in 1437 the great Japanese samurai-"

Mikey has to decide _quickly _between a) listening to Donatello babbling about atoms or b) listening to Leonardo about some ancient warriors. There's not much of a decision. Choosing c), looking after Hamato Raphael, he frantically jumps up and dashes away from the sofa. "Uh. Right, Raphie-boy, be right there with yo- ouch!"

The last sound is caused by him walking straight into his older brother's plastron and landing on his butt.

"Ya want somet'ing", the normally red-masked turtle smirks as he offers his youngest family member a hand. Blushing deeply, Mikey takes it and lets Raph pull him up. "Yeah, did you not say you wanted- pizza", he asks somewhat lame. Raphael already doesn't pay him attention anymore. Adjusting the red mask hanging around his neck over his amber eyes, he approaches the sofa. "What dis", he asks disgusted at the sight of the big machine. Don appears from behind it, his hands covered with oil. A huge grin is plastered across his face. "Nice question! You see, with this baby", he pats the metallic monster, "we can hopefully de- and rematerialize using atom molecule defasering… "

"'S ugly", Raph snorts, disinterested in this conversation as well. Turning around, he makes a step towards the kitchen. "Ya said s'met'in 'bout pizza", he asks Mikey walking past him. The orange-banded turtle sighs in relief. "Thanks- I mean, yeah. Let's-"

"Watch out, Donnie, something's loosening over there", they hear Leo say behind their shells and then - a shocked yelp coming from their genius brother. They turn in time to see something huge and metallic crashing down on the spot Don's been just a second ago- before the leader pushed him aside.

"Whoa!" Mikey shouts and quickly runs over, followed by Raphael. "You OK, Donster?"

Donnie seems less injured and more angry. Pushing himself off the floor, he curses something under his breath and kicks the machine in a sudden flash of anger,

And the next second  
Everything is  
White.


	2. Meet And Greet

_Chapter one rewritten... I hope you all like it so far. It's harder than I thought to rewrite the whole stuff... But I'm making progress. Sorry about this in the first place. But I still don't get how to find a beta reader, and I think I really improved my writing, and so... Sorry. *laughs*

* * *

As easy as possible,  
But not easier!  
[Albert Einstein]

* * *

_

**Chapter one

* * *

**

**Earth, Germany, 2010 (our Universe)**

Everything is a wild mix of black and white. It is cold, ice-cold. His body already went numb in the weather.

Michelangelo tries to blink but fails. Something icy and wet enters his nose, his mouth, his eyes.

_Oh God, I'm dying._

"OH GOD! I'M DYING!"

"No, you're not", Leo sighs somewhere behind him. "We're all alive and well, Mikey." There is a short pause, hesitation, in his voice. "At least, I think so."

With great efforts, the youngest turtle brother heaves his head out of the snow pile he landed in and looks around.

"Oh", he sighs in relief as his vision clears. "Ah", he adds as the snow covering his ears melts away. "Uh", he finally decides as he realizes that he is sitting in white, fluffy, fresh snow. "Why am I sitting in white, fluffy, fresh snow? It's June!"

No one answers his question. All he can see is something orange hanging in his face and the only noise is the scraping of snow to his left.

"I'm cold", Donatello finally peeps up. He sounds very, very miserable. Cracking his best smile, Mikey moves his head towards the sound. "Yeah, bro, me too-"

As he freezes this time, it's not because of the snow.

In front of him sit three human boys. They are completely naked and have funny hair colors- red, blue and purple. And they stare at him from wide eyes.

_Oh shell, now I'm SO busted, _Mikey thinks and then, _Leo's SO gonna kill me for this._

He stares at the boys. The boys stare back. Everything is perfectly silent. That is, until Mikey, in an absent-minded motion, tucks the orange strands of hair that still block his vision behind his left ear. Then realization hits him in the face.

"G- guys?" he asks, disbelief plastered on his forehead with red bold print. And slowly, three heads nod in unison.

Michelangelo's jaw hits the floor. Literally. Only then he starts paying attention to his surroundings. His body. Holding a hand in front of his face, a gasp escapes him- five normal shaped, mocha- colored fingers stretch out to grab another strand of neon orange hair falling in his eyes. He has ears, lips, a nose. Looking down himself, the youngest brother slowly lays a hand on his belly. No plastron, just bare, smooth skin. A quick turn of his head confirms that no, he hasn't got a shell, either.

"What happened?"

The orange-banded brother's voice is an octave too high to be normal. A wild mix of excitement and disbelief shows in it. _This is a dream. It can't be. A frikkin' cool dream, but still. _

Donatello doesn't answer, and neither do the others. They stare at their own hands, their strange-colored hair. The now purple-haired brother runs his fingers- _five fingers- _through the long strands and sighs helplessly. His deep brown eyes flicker back and forth from his skin that has a slightly lighter shade of caramel than Mikey's and the white surroundings.

Raphael's eyes, already showing anger against the unknown mixed with worry and a hint of curiosity. They are of a golden amber that looked nice against his dark green skin but now seems unnatural. They do make a nice contrast to his deep red hair, though. Next to him, a tall, blue-haired teenager slowly scrambles to his feet- _Leo, _Mikey forces himself to think, _not some random boy. _He looks around, searching for clues. His onyx eyes scan his brothers for possible injuries and relax only when they find none. The leader's eyes are almond-shaped, but huge. His skin is of a very milky color that contrasts to Raph's sitting next to him. The hot-head looks as if he came right from the Caribbean.

"A bet 't was de Shredder", Raph suggests first. His rough brooklyn accent somehow makes the scene more comforting, more familiar. Donnie, finally looking up, whispers something that sounds like "matching" which makes no sense to Mikey.

Instead, the youngest adds, "it might have been Bishop." The four of them shudder for a second, remembering this crazy government agent. Again, Donnie uses this word, but his teeth clatter now and he's not understandable.

"The Utroms!" Raph shouts, but since there is no laser gun or foreign planet or blue beam or anything, he knows it's not the case. "Maybe some crystal magic", Mikey thinks aloud remembering the underground city.

"Guys", Leo speaks up now. "I think Donnie's trying to tell you it was his invention."

"Oh", Mikey gets it now, "he wanted to say 'machine'!"

Raphael interrupts the conversation by sneezing. Everyone jumps in shock at the sound since everything around them is perfectly silent. The small street they landed in is covered in a thick white blanket and there are no windows. The houses are big and tall, looming over them, but there is no living being in sight.

"Let's find clothes", Leo finally suggests. "I'm freezing." He starts to look around, searching for a fire escape, before realizing that they don't have to hide. Or at least not because of them being giant humanized turtles. Then he stumbles down the street, followed by the others.

Finally they find an opened window on ground level. By then, Donnie is shaking from violent coughs and Raph sneezes every two minutes. Their feet turned a slightly blue color, as well as their lips, and their teeth shatter with every step.

They slip inside the house and silently walk out the door and through a corridor until they find a man's dress room. Each of them grabs some clothes and they dash off again, warmer now. The clothes are a wild mix of colors and styles, and the boys look pretty much off place, but they are better than nothing.

They are also the reason why everything that happens next happens next.

**Near them, just another Point Of View**

The world seems to be against me today. The temperature is dropping fast, and I can almost see my toes fall off. Snow started falling sporadically a few minutes ago and I freeze through my five layers of clothes and my winter jacket.

Okay, world, now you did it. I'm going home.

"-still way too cold for me. Can't we just go someplace warm and… HA-PHEEEEEW!"

Some voices catch my attention. I am walking through the suburb, rich people only, and I didn't meet a soul up to now. Wondering who is out in this weather and, additionally, speaking english, I peep around the next corner.

"- not know where we are, Mikey", an impatient voice says. "We can't just go anywhere.""But Leo", another male voice whines, "I want to-"

It is then they see me, and I see them, and everyone stops cold.

I know something is odd from the first moment. My mind starts to collect data immediately. Approaching slowly, carefully, I crack a huge smile and try my best school english as I start talking to them.

What I see are four boys about my age- maybe a little older. They wear colorful clothes which don't match, have odd hair colors (red, blue, orange and purple) and their shoes seem to be too wide. And they look _good, _there's no other way to describe it. Like a model and a bodybuilder combined. In fact, I have never seen anyone with red hair and a pink shirt looking good. I haven't seen anyone with red hair in a pink shirt so far anyway, but still.

My brain is done collecting data which makes the part of it that I don't need to speak jump to sudden conclusions.

"Hello, misters", my mouth says. _Oh my God, _my head notes.

"It seems you are lost. Excuse me interrupting you, but maybe I can help you?" my mouth smiles. _No way, _my head answers.

"Hell yeah", the one with the orange hair says and grins at me. "Don't call me crazy, but can you tell us which planet this is? And which day, and month, and place?"

"Planet earth", I answer confused. _This couldn't possibly be- _"Germany, 2010, and it's February."

"Germany", the boy with blue hair repeats. "Not America?" His gaze wanders towards the purple-haired one who looks really miserable and cold. Then they seem to remember me and his onyx gaze flickers back to my face. The red-haired one is not this polite. "GERMANY!" he shouts and I take a step back, surprised and startled. "How dit'cha get us ta GERMANY?"

_Brooklyn accent. _The only accent I know.

_Red, blue, orange, purple. No, Blue, Red, Purple, and Orange…_

"Excuse me", I say, again. Four heads turn into my direction in unison and make me nervous. "You", I say and can't go on. "You", I try again with the same result.

"We?" the redhead asks with a smirk. I nod at him, blink confused, and start again."You would not appear to be-" I can't say it. They'd have a culture shock.

"-cold?" I ask lame and miserable. "How about a hot chocolate while you explain me your problem? Maybe I can help you out." I try a smile. I want them to come with me, even though the functioning part of my brain tells me this is a STUPID idea. Letting four foreign guys into my house while I am all alone. "Shuddup", I murmur to myself and receive a startled look from the blue-haired boy.

And they really come with me.


	3. Maiden In Distress

_Chapter two all fresh and new! :D Check out my other stories as well, 'kay!

* * *

Leave my door opened just a crack..  
(Please take me away from here)  
[Owl City- Fireflies]

* * *

_

**Chapter two

* * *

**

**Earth, Germany, February 2010**

„Thanks for the invitation", Leo says through clattering teeth as they enter the entrance hall. „I really appreciate this." At least it is what he's trying to say, though it comes out more like „A-a-ah real-l-y apreciat-t-te t-t-t-is". He still manages to shoot Mikey a warning glance- the orange-haired boy is about to dash off and shout. Instead, he does a half-cynical bow and grins. „Yeah, thanks, dudette" he says towards the girl.

She leads them towards the kitchen. On the way Raphael takes great care of his surroundings. He is the one with sense of direction. He is also the one to carry Donatello whose legs have given out under him somewhere between the small side street and the house.

„You want something to drink?" I ask the four boys as we enter the kitchen. They all sit down around the huge wooden table, obviously glad to have something so sit on that doesn't freeze. Four heads nod, and I turn towards the cupboards and fetch them mugs.

„Let me guess", I say, I can't help it, and point at the orange-haired one. „Cacao" I assume and he nods, startled but grinning. Holding up my pointing finger, I stop the one with blue dyed hair from speaking. „Green tea", I shoot and his mouth snaps closed. I am aware of his gaze on me as I turn once again to grab the tea. „And you look like you could need a coffee", I finally suggest towards the purple-haired guy who shows me a mix of a shy smile and a grateful nod.

Then it's the redhead's turn, and suddenly I don't know how to go on. The name _Raphael _comes to my mind, I can't help it, even though I know it's stupid. _Raphael. _All of a sudden I have to admit that I don't know much more than nothing about this charac- this boy. What can I do? Offer him a beer?

„A take green tea 's well, if ya don't mind", he says somewhat shy, and startled I nod and fill some water into the boiler and the coffee machine before putting the milk cup into the microwave.

„'s cold", the purple-haired boy whispers and his brothers shoot him a worried glance. As he notices my eyes on his face, his gaze snaps up to face me. His eyes are brown like dark chocolate. For about a second we both muster each other, then he blushes, I blush and we look away. Silence follows.

„- Maybe I should introduce myself", I finally say to break the awkward pause. „My name is Liza May. Nice to meet you, and welcome to May's Mansion." I try to wave my hands in an ironic gesture, but it sounds lame, so I leave it at that.

The four boys look at each other from wary eyes before facing me again.

„My name", the blue-haired boy says slowly, cautiously, „is Hamato Leonardo."

I know my eyes went wide at the name, and I know they saw it too. In reward, Leonardo's eyes turn slits as he watches me. Nonetheless, the orange-haired, agile boy starts next. „Michelangelo", he says and gives me one of his huge grins. „But ya know something, dudette? Call me Mikey."

My eyes feel as if they are about to jump out of my head and dance Rock'n Roll. „Leonardo", I repeat, my voice nothing but a whisper. „Michelangelo…"

I feel Leonardo tense to my left. The room is suddenly filled with tension prickling on my cheeks. But.. But I have to know…

„You would not appear to be Raphael, then", I ask the redhead with a surprisingly calm voice. „And you", I face the turtle-haired boy slumped down next to him, „is your name Donatello-"

The microwave does its ‚pling' but I have no chance to get the milk. Ask hell where he got it from, but all of a sudden Raphael stands right in front of me with a fork at my throat. All I saw was a flash of pink and red, and then I was pinned down to the chair by what appeared to be a madman.

„Geez", I say and realize that even though I'm in immediate danger, I am still fascinated. „That was fast". Slowly my brain comes up with the explanation that I think of these guys as heroes- thus they won't kill me- and that making jokes is probably not the best decision I ever made. Huh. Too late.

Okay, this is not a situation I ever pictured myself in.

Four beautiful, absolutely awesome boys with the craziest hair colors ever sit in my kitchen and I have their undivided attention. And they appear to be my favorite superheroes. Okay, so the fork at my throat is kind of a bad touch but right now there are things far more important.

Like the way Michelangelo's eyes have this special kind of blue that the sea shows when the sun breaks through. Or the way Donnie's hair falls into his face with exactly the amount of coincidence other boys spend two hours in front of the mirror to create. Or how Leo's forehead sinks into a heavy frown as he pictures possible ways out of the situation in his head. I can see that at least one possibility contains killing me because a sad twitch moves his mouth and for a second his eyes appear almost black.

And, of course, Raphael's awesome speed.

It occurs to me that the huge "awesome, you are so cute" look on my face is not exactly what they have expected. Slowly, the weapon- because in Raphael's hands, it definitely is one- is removed from my skin and I exhale a breath I was not aware of holding. They stare at me anxiously. And then, realization sinks in and all of a sudden I have to clamp my hands around my chair so not to fall unconscious.

"Oh my god", I breathe. "It's really … _you."_

They still don't move, and I can't go on. My throat tightens to a hard ball. The silence following my words is awkward, full of unanswered questions and tension. I know I made a mistake here. But I had to know. I mean… They are the turtles. _The _turtles, that's clear now, but still- the _turtles._

Finally, Leo opens his mouth to say something. Only to be interrupted when the doorbell rings.

Okay, this happens in movies all the time- doorbells interrupting what can easily be considered the most important moment in your life. But in reality? Like, whoa?

Then I see the kitchen clock and every piece falls back into place. Just because some cartoon characters appeared in my house, it doesn't mean the rest of the world changed as well.

I know exactly who's there in front of my house. Because it's 13:20 and I'm alone at home.

I also know it is stupid to open the door. I don't want to. Honestly, I'd rather run up to my room and hide under the blankets, begging for peace. I go anyway. It's either this or dying, and thinking about it, I rather take _this_.

It is then that I become aware of Leo having said something. Blinking, I turn my head to look at him. He repeats the question, and this time his sharp and suspicious voice breaks through my self-defense. "Who is that?" he demands.

My mouth opens, then closes again. Taking a deep breath, I try again. I can't risk breaking into tears now. "No one", I manage to say. "Be right back."

And I dash away to open my home to the devil in human form.

"Hello, Nicklas", I say. I'm still trying to hold my voice steady, and I am also still failing miserably. "You want something?"

"Ah! Lizzy! I was wondering… What took you so long?"

The boy in front of me is tall, way taller than me. His black hair looks out from under a dark blue cap and falls into his green eyes. These eyes… Despite his relaxed tone, his eyes seem to shoot daggers at me. "Your parents here?" he then asks and tries to peep into the house behind me.

I know my hands are shaking, so I put them into my pockets. "You know perfectly well they aren't, Nicklas" I shoot back. Trying to sound tough. Failing. "And don't call me Lizzy."

"Aww, but Lizzy", he goes on in his teasing manner as if he hadn't heard me. "No one? Anyone I can talk to?"

I know he wants to check for the cleaning ladies or the cook, the only people who could possibly be there. I'm tired of this game. "No one is here. Now tell me what you want." Still I don't tell him about the boys. This is nothing my arch enemy is supposed to know.

He frowns as if he knew. "Sure thing? Okay, then, I suppose", he slowly says. "Now, pay time."

My hands are still shaking. I feel like crying, and the miserable, pitiful tone creeps into my voice as I say "I'll go get the wallet". As I dash upstairs, I almost fall down the staircase. It's the same thing every day, the same thing.

Because my parents are not here.

When I finally find my wallet and come down the stairs, Nicklas stands in the entrance hall, looking around and grinning. I can feel someone else watching me, though, and I wonder if it's one of the boys. _Please not, _I silently pray. _Don't let them see this. _Their appearance already seems like a dream to me, too good to be true.

Nicklas has spotted me, tapping his foot impatiently. I shudder to a halt a few feet in front of him, and barely manage to get 40 € in small bills to hand out of my wallet. My last money, and for a second I almost panic.

"Naah", Nicklas says and makes my blood go ice. "I'm afraid I have to tell you that the prizes increased during winter. More material costs, you know." With a wide grin he taps against his hat. "So it's 55 today, honey."

The tears have to be visible on my face, but this bastard only enjoys my being helpless. I search through my pockets but find nothing. "S-sorry", I stammer, "It's all I've got-"

His face twists in an unpleasant way. "That so", he hisses all of a sudden and makes me retreat a step. "Then", he goes on and his voice is deadly sweet, "I am afraid I can't ensure you of full protection in the future." And he turns to leave.

"No, wait", I beg him and move to go after him. "Nicklas, please-"

We both stop as we finally realize the path is blocked.

Raphael stands in the doorway, arms crossed. His furious expression makes my black-haired tormentor shrink to ashes in front of my eyes. He is really tall, I see now; far more than in his turtle form. His unnatural amber eyes burn like small suns and an evil grin tugs at the corners of his mouth.

Nicklas spins around and faces me. "You told me you're alone", he hisses and I can't help but make a small whimpering sound. Raphael's voice is like a wolf's growl behind him. "And _I _tell ya", he barks with his heavy accent, "ta leave de girl _alone."_

All of a sudden I feel my angst fall off. _Raph's gonna make it okay, _I think and relax. Funny how I never thought of him as a protector, even though it's what he does all day- night.

Nicklas' eyes flicker between me and Raph, calculating. Finally he retreats. "Hey, chill, man", he advises Raph but earns only another growl. Hastily the black-haired boy then approaches the door, believing the redhead will stand aside. But no.

"I believe you have there something that's not yours", Raphael says. And he points at Nicklas' pockets. With an evil glance in my direction, the boy hands the 40€ over to Raph and tries to get past him, but he's blocked again. "Sorry, but during winter it's 55", he is told and I could swear Raph is smirking. The only reason why Nicklas reaches into his own wallet and gives him the money is the obvious fact that Raphael looks like he could kill him without so much as effort.

When I close the door behind him finally, I am 15€ richer and feel like a small sun just went up in my chest to lighten my day.

"Why didn't cha say anythin', I could've-" Raph starts but is stopped short when I hug him tight, bury my head in his shoulder and start to cry.

Raph holds me helplessly and startled, but he returns the embrace. He even makes small 'shush'-like sounds, trying to calm me down. I feel the other boys enter the room rather than hearing them, and voices rise around us. Someone demands to know what's going on. Someone explains. I don't care, I just continue crying in these strong arms. I never felt safer.

Hello. My name is Liza May. I am a 17-year-old German girl and in my home are four strange American boys who are originally  
turtles from a comic book. And  
they just saved  
my day.


	4. Find Out More

_Chapter three. I'm getting better. :D Hope you enjoy! Don't worry, more'll happen soon!  


* * *

People are different from how they should be.  
You don't tell this to anyone,  
But you think it about everyone.  
[Billy]

* * *

_**Chapter 3

* * *

**

**Earth, Germany, February 2010 (about 14 o'clock)**

It is somewhat awkward to stand there, surrounded by voices and crying my heart out. But not because it's unpleasant, no. It's because clinging to a fictional character I thought I could never even come close to like is the exact opposite. It's comforting. It's _- nice_.

Eventually my sobs stop. I don't know how he got them, and I suppose I never will, but Leonardo hands me a pack of tissues from the kitchen. The extra soft ones in the yellow box which smell like chamomile. Managing a shuddered 'Thank you' I sneeze loudly and wipe my eyes, and suddenly there are black marks on the paper. I have to stare at them for a second before I realize it's my mascara coming down. Then I realize that I probably look like a zombie now, with the black paint all over my face. And then I realize that when I left marks on this tissue…

I turn and face Raphael, who to my surprise seems to be blushing. My eyes reveal the truth immediately. "Oh no", I whisper in a raspy voice. "I ruined that shirt… I am so sorry…" New tears dwell up in my eyes and they are probably the reason why the redhead hastily waves off and takes a step back. "No problem, really…" With an irritated look he turns towards his brothers only to earn a punch from Mikey. The youngest boy grins widely and whispers something I could swear sounds like "Raphie's got a boyfriend".

"Thank you." My voice is clearer now, and I earn another irritated look. "I appreciate your help", I say and, because I don't know what else to do, I give them a short bow.

There is tension rising in the air as I look up again. Everyone is either staring at me (Leo) or at his feet (the rest). I shift uneasily. Now that's been it- a short visit, ten minutes of their presence, all destroyed because of my big mouth. _Clumsy, idiotic, stupid me._

"Well", Mikey finally speaks up. His voice makes me flinch because I know what's coming now. "Can we go back to drink our cacao now, or what?"

I open my mouth to tell them goodbye. Then I close it again. Open, close. My gaze wanders up to his face, to these huge blue eyes which already stare longingly into the direction of the kitchen. Open, close. I feel like a fish that run out of water. Open, close. All I manage as a response is a cracking sound of surprise.

As we go back to the kitchen, I feel everyone's eyes on my back. The thought occurs to me that after the scene at the door, I am somehow a maiden in distress, that it would be dishonorable to leave. But I don't care. I'm just happy they decided to stay for another hour. That I'm not alone anymore.

Leonardo watches the girl's back anxiously as they go back to the kitchen. Only ten minutes ago, he wanted to leave immediately and to never look back. This girl -Liza, he forces himself to think- has frightened him deeply. How did she know their names? So of course he sent Raphael after her when she left for the door. But now, after what just happened…

_She's either a brilliant actor, _the blue-haired boy thinks, _or she really is no member of the foot clan. _He's not sure why his brother decided to help the girl out back then, but he kind of gets the idea. It was for the same reason they saved April back in the days. The reason why they went underground to find a cure for the forbidden city. The reason why Karai was saved from Bishop… The reason Hun was still alive. The clan was predestined to help those in danger- even if it meant being fooled sometimes.

Raph sits next to Leo at the wooden table and watches Liza's every move. He is not sure himself weather it's a search for a sign that would expose her as a foot member or if it's mere interest. Liza quickly puts all the cups into the huge silver microwave again to heat them up before she turns and puts the cacao powder away.

Somewhere in between, Raphael's fingertips unconsciously reach out towards the still wet marks on his shirt, but he stops the movement and stares at his hand instead. Slowly, he flexes and stretches his fingers. They are so thin, almost delicate compared to his three-fingered hand. And now there are two more fingers than usually. _How confusing._

Liza catches the movement as she gives each of them their cups. Her face gets this analytical look Leo knows from Donatello. The purple-wearing brother often got this look in the past when he was trying to find out the truth behind the 'I'm fine'-lies. Or when he tried to find out _who the hell _broke his precious inventions _again._

The water starts to cook and the girl looks at it for a second before turning to face the leader with the same look in her eyes. "Leonardo", she starts and startled, he flinches back. "Yeah?" he then asks, mentally slapping himself for the gives him a small smile, but the analytical look remains. "Reach me this cup please" she says and points at Leo's cup. The leader moves to reach out for it as she adds, "and on the way, Leonardo, you can tell me how you came to be here."

He shrugs at her unusual choice of words as he gives her the cup. _On the way? And How we came to be here? Strange. Her teachers seem to teach her Shakespearean english, _he thinks but doesn't comment. "Donnie's fault", he sighs and leaves it at girl still stands there and stares at his face, the cup in her hand, unmoving. Waiting for something? Irritated, Leo scratches his nose, and as if the movement had awoken her, she gives him another warm smile and places the cup next to her before searching the cupboards for tea. Absent mindedly she murmurs something as her fingertips brush over rows of tea packs."Uh, any tea's just fine", Leo assures her, still unsure of how to react on her. _Who is she? _But Liza ignores him until she finally finds what she was looking for. "Perfect", she says to herself and pours hot water on a net filled with tea leaves.

Leo doesn't even have to ask what tea she chose. The strong, familiar scent of Tamaryokucha Koga fills the room- japanese green tea with a unique subtle and floury sweetness. "Here you are", she says as she reaches him the cup and goes on preparing coffee for Donatello. And all the blue-haired boy can to is stare at her, startled and confused._How did she know?_

I checked. The little phrase I borrowed from Usagi-san seemed to irritate Leo somewhat, but not enough to show familiarity. So they haven't been divided by the merged Draco and Ue yet, because then Leo would have remembered that phrase from after the mole ninja attack in 'Same as it never was'. And he didn't.

The idea was to find out where in the episode timeline the boys currently are. Have they met Usagi yet? Have they been at the Battle Nexus yet? I'm pretty sure there is a subtle and kind way to find out. Too bad I'm neither subtle nor kind.

"So, tell me: How is Usagi, everyone's favorite samurai?" I ask in a 'by the way'-tone and smile into my cacao as Mikey chokes on his. Leo looks ready to give the walls a new tea-ish color, and Raph and Donnie stare at me as if I was an alien. I notice then that Donnie's face has taken a slightly grey-ish color and frown, but I'm interrupted before I can ask what's wrong.

"How did you-" Leo asks and then stops himself, probably wondering what he can say without giving away too much. I work on my puppy-eyes and notice from the corner of my eyes Donnie's taken this analytical look he always gets when he's trying to find out the truth behind the 'I'm fine'-lies. Or when he tries to find out _who the hell _broke his precious inventions _again. _"Suppose he's fine, then?" I add innocently and blink.

Leo nods, eyeing me warily. I sigh in relief. I love this rabbit; it would've been sad not to be able to talk about him with the guys. Huh. The guys. This sounds nice, as if they were my pals. Unable to suppress it, I let out a small giggle, earning even more startled looks.

"He's renting homes for flies", Mikey breaks the silence and points at Raph. The red-heads mouth hangs wide open and he has DISBELIEF practically plastered across his face in bold print. I chuckle along with Mikey, and Raph quickly shuts his jaw and blushes angrily. The color suits him, I can't help but think. I mean, as ninja turtles they are cool, but as boys in my age… I mean, _excuse me!_

Then the whole situation makes a 180°-turn because Raph decides to take revenge. Immediately. I jump in shock when he tackles his younger brother off his chair and they both fall to the floor. Mikey's cup slips from his hands and shatters into big porcelain shards on the kitchen floor, but no one cares. Leo looks at me apologetically as one of the kitchen chairs flies by, then quickly snatches said chair out of midair and sets it aside. Don smiles a wordless excuse, but I just shrug- no big deal. A big deal is, on the other hand, the fact that the two boys continue their wrestling match right next to Mikey's cup's porcelain blades.

"Look out!" I say but it gets lost in the angry shouts and muffled laughter of the battle. Only Leo hears me but can't seem to notice anything. So now it's time for every girl's ultimate weapon.I draw as much air as possible into my lungs only to release it into one loud, itchy scream. And I mean _scream. _Everyone stops doing what he's doing _immediately. _And Mikey's shoulder stops just inches from a huge yellow shard. "DON'T. MOVE!" I say with as much authority as I can, and they really do. I think Mikey even holds his breath. Slowly, carefully I kneel down next to them and pick up the source of danger, and everyone's eyes go wide with surprise. It is then that Raph releases Mike from his iron grip and helps him up. They look at me like school boys caught at stealing cookies."Thanks, dudette-", Michelangelo starts but I wave him off. "Boys", I start in a sharp tone. "You must remember that you don't have your natural armor right now." I point at their backs and fronts. "Neither plastron nor shell. You may have these awesome skills, and awesome looks and all that-" _crap, have I really just said that?- "_but you're not invincible. So _please _try not to kill yourselves on my kitchen floor."

They nod. "Yeah, ma'am", Raph smirks already, overcoming the shock in an instant. Mikey's not far behind. "So you think we're awesome?" He grins as I not. It's no use in denying that. "But for sure I'm the most awesome, right?" the orange-head asks.I shrug. "Yeah, right behind Leo, Don and Raph", I answer. He smiles widely until the words sink in. "Wha- hey! Meany", he then whines and I chuckle.

I then look around at the splattered cacao and the shards and sigh. "I guess we can as well go up and talk, then", I say and turn to leave the room. I still notice the boys' looks as I pass them, though. Especially Leo's… Gosh, how I love this guy.

"You sure you want him in your room?" Raph whispers in my ear and points at Mikey's head who now turns.  
"Hey, I heard that!"And  
finally, everyone  
laughs.


	5. Realization and Shocks

_Here's chapter 4. I'm making progress... It's early in the morning, today's school free. Only one more week, then I finally got holidays! Yay! I can't wait! :3

* * *

When God wants to help us,  
To be with us,  
He won't let a wonder happen  
With thunder and lightning  
But send us a friend.  
[Hannelore Frank]

* * *

_

**Chapter 4**

We go up the stairs and I lead them down the corridor, pointing at the doors as we walk past them. "This is our bigger bathroom... My mother's private room.. My parent's room... The billiard room... The second bath..." Something like this. I have to admit, I'm suddenly ashamed to tell them about all the useless rooms in this house which is way too big for three persons. I am pretty sure the turtles could stay in here for about two years with my parents at home and they would still remain unnoticed. It's amazing. It's _useless. _Yes, it is.

Finally, we come to my room. The thought occurs to me only then that maybe, _just maybe _it's not the best of all ideas to lead them into a room full with posters of cartoon series, including _themselves_.. Yeah, I know, I'm a bit slow at realizing this kind of stuff. So I stop just in time to let Leo bump into me, Raph bump into Leo and Mike bump into Raph. Don avoids the traffic jam and walks past us only to stop in front of my door. "That's your room?" he asks and gives me an assuring smile. It would have made me blush in any other moment but now. "Uh" I say instead, not very intelligent.

Mike grins and walks past us as well. I turn just in time to tell Leo that he must "not apologize for walking into me, it was my fault", and he shuts his mouth which he probably just opened to do exactly that. He looks surprised by my behavior once more, but then again, everyone I know is surprised by my behavior, so its nothing unusual.

I try to think of a way out, but my brain feels more and more like a giant black hole. It is consuming every thought and leaves me alone with a deep and helpless nothingness in my head. And Don is still standing in front of my door.

"Maybe we should _not _go in there", I manage to say. He turns, confused, and his eyebrows wander up his forehead as he watches me. I feel stupid now, but I just can't let them see the posters. It would let me look like the maniac I am. And I don't want to know them I am.. They will find out soon enough on their own. "I just remembered it's a mess" I say, "I have not expected you to visit, if you understand."

Mikey's grin spreads wider across his face. "Oh come on dudette, it can't be worse Don's working space or Raphie's bedroom" he jokes. From the series I know he is right, even though he by pure chance forgot to mention his own mess of a room. Mine is, in fact, cleaned up and all fine, but _I can't let them go in there _!

"Please, how am I supposed to know about your rooms? All I can say is that my room is in no state to be visited right now.. Let's go to the living room instead, okay?" I try my best, I really do. And if it were only for Don and Leo, it would've worked. But here are Mikey and Raph, and tactfulness is a foreign word for the two. So…

Raph groans. "Ah, come on, girl, all tha way down again? What's ta matter?" He rolls his eyes. "Tha house's bigger than d'entire sewer sys..." A hiss stops him in mid-sentence; obviously Leo disagrees with the idea of telling me where they live. "What? I bet ta shell she knows anyway" I hear Raph grumble under his breath, and he's right. But right now I have other problems. Mikey, for example, who just shrugged and with a mocking "so let's have a look at what you Germans call a 'mess'" opened my door.

„NO!" I scream- or at least I want to, but the pure ignorance and shamelessness of the action catches me off guard and the shout turns into a shriek instead. _HOW DARE HE? _I can't allow him to see the posters! Besides him having a possible culture shock it is also highly and totally _embarrassing! _Behind me, Leo does a mix between a snort and a laugh but doesn't stop his brother. Only Don, once again, shoots me an apologetically look.

"Wow, this is what I call a big room!" Mikey shouts out loud when he opens my door. It indeed is, I admit it, _but what the hell_? My eyes shoot sparks and daggers of fury aiming at Mikey's back. Don, who can read my expression, quickly tries to move his younger brother away from my door but the latter is completely unaware of his surroundings. "What's it with the mess ya were talking about? It's all fine!"

"Raphael", I say and my voice drips with fury. "Have you, by any chance, brought the fork upstairs with you? I feel like stabbing a certain _someone_ in the back."

Mikey chuckles and turns to face me, grinning widely. As he sees my face, however, his smile drops from his face, runs into a far corner and hides behind a large flower pot, shivering in panic; the rest of the ex-turtle-now-boy stares at me with what could be called _slight concern_. Raphael on the other hand who seemingly enjoys the scene answers "I gotta plan: why don't A go downstairs an' fetch ya a knive or ma'be a hammer instead?"

I nod and know that Raphael shows his teeth in an evil grin because I can watch Mikey watch Raph. The orange-haired boy gulps as I make one step into his direction. "On the other hand", I say grinning evilly, "I can as well kill him with my own hand and feet, it would save us some time."

With a shocked whine, Mikey retreats to avoid me- and does exactly what _I_ had wanted to avoid. He enters my room.

Oh shell.

„You come out of there, _NOW!_" My voice is a thunderous explosion. Mikey holds up his hand in an apologizing gesture. "All right dudette, no need to freak out" he whines and comes back to me. I allow my body to finally catch a breath- the danger is over- when the impossible happens: "And by the way, what are you so angry about, the room's just..." he makes a pirouette, waves his hands and _stops._

Oh Shit. Now it happened.

No no no no no.

"Uh", the orange-haired boy manages as he stares at the wall behind the door. His eyes widen. _This is bad_. "Guys" he calls and his voice is somewhat husky. "You.. should see this..."

Donnie, as he still stands next to the door, is first to enter; Raph and Leo rush past me to see what's happening. As he walks past me, Raph rises one eyebrow as if to ask me "what's it this time?" but all I can do is stare at him, wide- eyed. I want to shout, tell them it's nothing, that we should all just go down and watch a movie or something- _by the way, I really have to remove the TMNT movies before we go in there- _but my voice just decided to go and play with Mikey's smile behind the flower pot.

And then they all just stand there and stare at the- I count in my mind- four posters and three self-drawn pictures of themselves, signed with a huge "THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES- ON AIR EVERY SATURDAY MORNING".

Time stretches into nothingness as I watch them through the door. No one breathes. Then, almost as if he was afraid to break something with his voice, Don whispers something that sounds an awful lot like "you are talented, nice pictures.."

I don't know how it happened, but half an hour later the five of us sit in a circle on the carpet in my room and talk as if the walls were not covered by two-dimensional pictures showing that the four boys in front of me are actually cartoon characters. Maybe they have a special brain part to deal with the unexpected, like I have a special stomach for sweets. Maybe in one of their adventures which were not shown in TV they have had a situation like this before.. Or maybe, which is the most likely case, they just need some time to let things sink in before they kill me.

We talk about my life for some time and about their lives a little less time, and the four boys act almost normal, except for when Don breaks off in mid-sentence when he realizes he just ran his fingers through his violet hair and for the strange silence that occurs after Mikey shows us how he can touch his nose tip with his tongue. (It was freaking cool, by the way.) We carefully avoid the topic ‚TV shows', though.

Then I finally get them to tell me how the hell they came to my universe.

".. were completely naked and freezing to death. But luckily, we found this opened window nearby, and soon afterwards, you", Leo finishes the story and smiles at me a little. I can see concern and worry in his eyes, though. He does not trust me. The others seem to do; they talk about everything as if I weren't there (even about home and their Master Splinter) and include me into their conversation. Leo's the only one who tries to divert me from their talks and tales. I hate to admit it, but it hurts me deeper than I wish it did. After all, the Leader is my favorite brother, has always been and probably will always be; of course I know that he only wants his family to be safe, but still...

"You have a theory of why you are human now?" I ask Donnie who shrugs uncertain. "I can't really explain it.." he admits. I try a sheepish grin. "So maybe the machine you built transformed you into what comes next to your original form because you don't really exist here," I say only to mentally slap myself in the face when I realize what I just did.

Donnie flinches slightly before he frowns. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you see, technically you don't exist in this world", I say. His gaze flickers to the posters at the wall and I flinch but he nods slowly. "I mean, I don't know about turtles in America's sewer tunnels, but I am almost certain there are none" I add. "So maybe the machine made you what is closest to you: humans."

He is in his element now and his nod gets enthusiastically. "This could be right; but then we had much luck, we could as well have been turned into pet turtles again!" We both shudder in sympathy and grin at each other. "That woulda been bad" Raph pipes up. "Gotta think there's not even zero degrees outside. We would've been dead by now.. Little turtle ice creams on a stick." Mikey laughs at the picture and Raph slaps him over the head as if he had only been waiting for this chance. I giggle at the sight.

"But serious, guys, I still feel the cold from outside in my bones" Don admits and the others nod. The purple- haired boy still seems shaky, I have to admit. I also see the well-known concern crawl into Leo's eyes and sigh inwardly at what comes next.

"It's thanks to you, Liza, that we are still alive and somewhat healthy." Leo nods his head in my direction and I blush. Again. I think I've never blushed as much in my whole life as in the past two hours. Honestly. Quickly I return the gesture.

"Why don't you take a hot shower?" I suggest then. "Be my guests. I can give you towels and clothes from my dad.. It would be no problem for me."

I can see they think about it. They really seem to be still cold and I could slap myself again for not giving them anything but hot chocolate/tea to warm up. Stupid me, if they catch the flu it'll be my fault. Leo shakes his head finally and I feel my mood sink to a minimum. "I thank you for the offer but I suggest we leave now", he says stiffly. Suddenly, I feel like crying. Tears are quick to come when it's me. "I think we have kept you away from whatever you were doing for far too long now."

I take a deep, shuddering breath. Don't cry, stupid girl. A cartoon character doesn't like you. It's not the end of the world. I'm about and ready to say okay and bye _(okay, not ready, boohoo)_, but Mikey's faster than me.

"But, Leeeoooo" he whines. "A hot shower, warm clothes, COME ON! I am freezing, and I am hungry, and..." he receives another slap on the back of his head by Raph for the pathetic looks of it but the older brother has to agree. "If ya're sure it really is no problem far ya" he says to me, "I think we woulda love ta warm up a lil."

Leo crosses his arms over his chest but knows he lost the fight. Soon I find myself in an eager talk to Mikey about how he and his brothers are cartoon characters in this world as we go take some towels from the storage room. I am surprised but relieved about how easily he takes this but he only shrugs. "It is the one thing that has not happened to us by now, I knew it would some day" he grins. It really is easy to have fun with the guy

"Ya really don' need ta be so mean to tha girl, ya know" Raph grumbles as he, Don and Leo take some clothes from Liza's father's room. "She's nice and she seems ta like ya!"

Leo only shrugs. "I don't know, Raph" he whispers.  
"I can't trust her. She  
knows too  
much."


	6. Showers And Talks

_Here's chapter 5. Don't worry, I'll finish this soon and make an update. :3

* * *

There were places we would go at midnight  
There were secrets that nobody else would know  
There's a reason,  
But I don't know why...  
[Hillary Duff- Who's that girl]

* * *

_**Chapter 5**

Liza's sitting in her room in front of her computer. She's searching the web for a list of TMNT episodes to place the four boys into the timeline. Vaguely, at least.

Finally she gives up googling and moves to wikipedia with a sigh. _Wiki's my best friend_ is a popular saying in Germany and the girl is no exception. Quickly she finds what she's looking for and scrolls through the episodes.

"The Shredder strikes", followed by "Tales of Leo", are perhaps her most favorite and at the same time the most frightening episodes. She loves every episode where the guys fight. However, now that they are here she can't help but realize that they are only her age, something that never really occurred to her before. _How hard their life is compared to mine.. It's not fair._

She sighs again and scrolls down the page only to stop somewhere between "The Big Brawl" and "The Real World". Wow. This is a huge time span filled with Bishop and Shredder and Ninja and blood- and new friends. Another sigh. _At least they're not alone… other than me._

"I wonder how Leatherhead.." she starts absent mindedly and spins in her chair only to see Donatello in the doorframe and freeze. Then she quickly shuts down the computer. Heat fills her cheeks and she scowls. _How long has he been there?_

"Can we maybe have some more towels?" Don asks and watches her wearily. Once more Liza notices his hands are shaking slightly.

"Sure" she mutters and together they leave the room.

Michelangelo is thinking. _Hard._

Some people actually think that the youngest ex-turtle brother is not only a clown, but also lazy and uneducated, because during the series he does not take practice for serious. Let me tell you by the way that this is not true. In a series that runs only once a week and for twenty minutes, how are they supposed to sum up all the days in between? You know Big Brother? They give everyone a role, you know. And they only show you the parts where the person fits into the role. Which is why when Michelangelo is really thinking- _hard_-, not everything that comes out as a result is quark. Still _some_, okay, but not _everything_.

This is, besides, exactly what the boy is thinking about. Not the quark part, but the "your series run once a week for twenty minutes" part.

The orange haired boy has quite some time to think. Raphael is in the bathroom and Raphael needs his time to take showers. And now, with the added need to "style the hair", Mikey has about one hour for himself

There are four bathrooms on the second floor- one for Liza, one for her mom, one for her dad, and one for guests. However, there also are different heaters for all the hot water. Liza had explained it to them earlier.

"You see", she said and drew a rectangle on the wall next to her with her fingers. "This is our house, kind of." The four boys nodded and she went on.

"You can divide the house into three areas, basically- this one" she drew one line into the imagined rectangle, "this one" she marked the middle part of it, "and this third one."

"What is the difference between the parts?" Leonardo asked. He still was suspicious about her, and for this part he wanted to know as much as possible about the house they were in. Liza, however, smiled as if the sun had just broken through a cloudbank because he finally paid her some interest.

"I'll come to this now.. See, in the small part on the left", she marked it again, tipping on the wall with her fingertips, "are the kitchen, my room, my bathroom and part of the living room, as well as some smaller rooms and guest rooms as well as the guests' bath..." Her fingers wandered to the middle part of the 'house'. "In here, we have my parents' private rooms, their bathrooms and their bedroom as well as- downstairs- the living room."

"But what.." Raph said but she had held up her pointing finger to silence him, and to everyone's surprise (her own as well) it actually worked.

"Finally", and her fingers brushed over the clean, white wall, "the right part, with the billiard rooms, the toilet downstairs, and some rooms even I have no idea what they are about." Mikey chuckled slightly but stopped immediately when he received a dark look from Leo,

The others were still frowning when Donny figured out. "The boiler!" he said and Liza nodded.

"Huh?" said Raphael.

"Uh," said Mikey.

"The three parts must have different water boilers", Donny explained. "Remember, the kitchen had been cold when we were downstairs, and probably the whole "left" area is cold by now." He turned to face Liza. "Like parts of the living room, your bath, the guests' places and.. your room."

The girl nodded. "Correct. Which is why we only have two bathrooms left for you to shower- my mom's and my dad's. Everywhere else, we only have cold water."

"I don't care about cold water." Leo, of course. Eye rolling everywhere. "But maybe your blue fingers do", Liza suggested and that was the end of the discussion.

For some unknown reason Mikey and Raph had ended up to use the pink, flowery bathroom of Liza's mother. And Raphael had been faster to enter. Which leads us to the situation at hand- Mikey is thinking. _Hard._

When Liza walks by him, still carrying towels and clothes, she sees him frown and stops.

"What's wrong?" she asks him, even though she is pretty sure she knows the answer already. What can possibly _NOT _be wrong with finding out you are a cartoon character? She tries a smile nonetheless and shifts the weight of cloth in her arms to a more comfortable position.

"What can possibly _NOT _be wrong with being a cartoon character?" answers Mike and grins. It was meant as a joke, but Liza looks more surprised than amused about the answer. What has _she_ thought was he thinking about?

"I can imagine it's difficult for you," she says mildly and this time he is surprised about the honesty and .. sadness in her voice. He didn't mean to make her sad. "It's my fault, I should have stopped you from entering my room.. I shouldn't have dropped the hints in the first place. You'd better have left right after the hot chocolate, Leo is right." Again, she shifts the towels. They become heavy in her arms.

Mikey is speechless for a long second, something not everyone manages to make him. "No, no! It's not your fault. I mean, I have been the one to enter ya room, dudette." She smiles at the nickname but doesn't say anything. "Look," he continues and lays a hand on her shoulder. She flinches but holds her place. "Look where we are! We are taking a shower in your house and you give us clothes! What makes you feel you are the one who should apologize?"

She shrugs and looks at her feet. Mikey jumps to a conclusion. He watched her reactions before. "It's fearless, right? I mean Leo." She shrugs again, uncertain, and still doesn't look up. It's already more than enough to prove Mikey right. He tries to continue, but then she speaks up.

"It's just.. I know he just wants to protect you, but.." She can't find the words and it's the first time the orange haired boy realizes how hard it must be for her to speak English all the time and to understand them in their fast speech- especially Raph's accent. She covers it well, but it's probably not easy for her. "I am a huge fan," she finally continues. "I mean huge with a capital H." _A slight grin on Mikey's face. „_And now you are here- for real- it's just that sometimes I feel like I'm walking around a corner and when I turn around again you'll be gone, because it's all just a big dream.." Her hands holding the cloth are shivering and for a second he thinks of a way to comfort her before he realizes it's just because of the weight of the towels.

"Hey, let me hold that, dudette." He takes the bunch from her arms and she sighs in relief and moves her shoulders until they crack a little. "Thanks," she whispers and actually smiles again, even though tears still shimmer in her eyes. "I shouldn't.. I act like a baby. I am sorry." Quickly she rubs her eyes. She still has black marks below them from the crying earlier. "You are the one far away from home, mutated into what hates you and with no certain way back.. There's no use in crying for me." This time her gesture is half-angry, half-embarrassed.

"Oh no. It's all right!" he hurries to say and balances the towels on one arm as he reaches out and wipes her cheeks. At the same time his thumb wipes away the black mascara. She follows his fingers but lets him proceed before she cracks a sad smile. "Funny", she whispers.

"What's funny? All I can see is a good looking, smart, cute, absolutely adorable teenager-" she smiles as she realizes how this is what he always says about himself in the series - "and me. Nothing particularly funny… Just normal, I guess."

This time she has to let it sink in before red blood rushes in her head and she blushes deeply. "Idiot" she mutters and takes the towels back from him, leaving him only two of them and a set of black clothes. "Sorry about that", she says as he eyes the pants and shirt, "daddy only wears black.." She shows him her tongue and whirls past him in the direction of the second bathroom.

"Hey", he calls behind her and she turns again. "What is the funny part about the conversation?" he asks her because he had interrupted her earlier.

"Oh", she says and blushes again. "It is just.. Your reactions. Some people would call a serious conversation with you a little off-character.." her voice trails off and when he looks up the next time, she's already around the corner and gone.

Mikey scratches his head in confusion. "How can anything I say be off-character for me?" he wonders aloud.

"What'cha talkin' 'bout, bonehead?" says a voice behind him. As he turns, Raph stands in the doorway and steam flees the bathroom. Mike grins at him and rushes past him. "Nothing, Raphie-boy" he mocks his older brother who tries to push him but misses. Only one split second before he closes the door, he grins again and shoots a "I liked pink better" at the redhead.

Raph's fist meets the solid wooden door with a crash. "Ouch", he mutters under his breath and twists his face before he looks down his now black-clothed body. "Yeah, me too" he mutters before he turns and goes looking for the others. He has to find out more about his role in the series.  
The girl seems to be afraid  
of him and he would  
like to know  
why.


	7. An Hour Of Training And An Attack

_Here's chapter 6. It's mostly from the boys' POVs. So I won't translate the German phrases right away, because in my opinion you can as well understand nothing as the brothers do. :D I will translate the phrases at the end of the chapter, though. :) Have fun!  
Slight language warning for this chapter, because Nicklas is back, and he really has no manners.  


* * *

Who tries to make others small  
Can't be that great.  
[J. G. Seume]

* * *

_

**Chapter 6**

".. totally awesome!"

Mike's scream fills the cellar. They went down here because Don suggested that after the shower he could have a look at the heater. He really does that now. Leo's holding his flashlight into the dark corner behind the machine. Meanwhile Mikey, Raph and Liza take a tour through the rest of the cellar which is quite big. Right now, they encounter the training room nobody ever enters safe for the cleaning ladies. It's a shame, really- the equipment is fantastic.

Of course, the guys are totally into it.

"I thought you'd like a turn with the... you know." Liza points at the punching bag hanging in a corner. "I don't know the exact word.."

"A real leat'r punchin' bag wit' iron chains an' everythin', an' even in red!" Raph shouts out and storms over without listening to her any further. "Punching bag", Liza completes her sentence, looking startled. "How old did you say he was?" she asks Mike- who is not there anymore. She needs to do a whole 360° pirouette until she can look into the room again. Mikey's already trying out the tatami mats for some sit-ups.

"Ah, never mind", she sighs and leaves to find the other boys.

"I think that's about it", Don says and finally comes out from behind the boiler. He's all dusty and his hands are covered with oil, but he smiles satisfied and stretches his arms until he feels some bones cracking into place.

Leo, who's tired of holding the flashlight, stretches, too. "Gimme thr- five, bro" he laughs and flashes a grin as they clap hands. The smile vanishes as fast as it came, though, when he hears footsteps approach. In a second, he's serious again, scowling at the door. Good thing it's dark down here so he doesn't notice Don rolling his eyes.

The purple haired brother runs a hand through his hair absent mindedly and checks the boiler one last time. (He will realize only later that he now has to take a shower all over again.) From the heavy and thoughtless footsteps he can tell it's Liza who's approaching, not one of his brothers. And then she stands in the doorframe, flashing Leo a shy smile before whispering something.

"Sorry, what?" Donnie asks, snapping out of his thoughts.

"It's repaired", Leo answers in his place. His voice is stiff enough to actually make her flinch and she quickly looks away, scanning the dark room.

"Really?" A smile takes over her features and she comes in, hastily going past Leo and giving the technically advanced boy an assuring hug. "Oh, thanks a lot, Donni- Donatello! I was freezing in my room!"

Then she lets him go and blushes again. "I mean, sorry. It's just.." Her voice trails off as she notices the dust in his face and the oil on his hands and hair. "Uh, didn't you just take a shower?" She has a hard time to fight back a grin. He looks at her confused before he gets it. "Oh! I.. well, I guess, I will go wash my hands then." And before she can stop him he's gone. She's alone with Leo who still glares at her with mistrust.

She holds his gaze for impressive two seconds before she turns away. "I'll go get something to drink" she whispers and quickly leaves. The Leader's left alone in the machine room, and for the first time since he came here he actually feels something like guilt dwelling up inside of him. _Maybe I should apologize..? _But he quickly pushes the thought aside and starts into the direction of the training room instead, looking for his younger brothers.

"Shall I open?" Don asks, his head perking through the doorframe into the kitchen. Liza's searching the cupboards for something to drink. _Boy, the girl's really lost in her own kitchen_, Don thinks and shakes his head in disbelief. She only nods in answer to his question and prepares to climb up the work surface to reach the orange juice from the higher boards. Still shaking his head, Donnie leaves and answers the door.

"Hello? May*s Mansion", he says and smiles. In front of him stands a plump small man with a white apron and a basket in his hands. He looks up at Don, confused for a second, before he returns the smile. "Ah, bon jour, tu as un ami de Lizaah?" he asks. Luckily, because Don's a genius, he speaks French. "Oui, c'est vrai. Liza est en la cuisine", he answers and steps aside. The man smiles once more and enters. "Je suis Antoine, et je suis le.." _If he says he's the cook I'll laugh. He's like perfect- perfect name, perfect look, perfect French._. "cuisinier." And he pulls out a white hat and marches towards the kitchen. *)

Having found one more reason to shake his head in disbelief, Don follows him. He enters the room just in time to catch Liza as she falls back-first from the work surface.

"Oh, thank you!" she shrieks, her voice several accords too high, and flashes him another blushed smile. He grins back only to slap her lightly on the head in the same movement. "Stupid. Why'd you do this? It's dangerous." Liza rubs her head and twists her mouth. She's still shivering slightly from the shock and immediately, Donnie feels guilty. "Just don't do it again. Ask me next time" he quickly says and she nods. "I just.."

"Ah, oh non! C'est horrible! Où est el fromage frais por dinér?" Antoine cries out and everyone jumps, like, ten feet into the air. Including the other boys, who are just about to enter the room.

"Ce n'est pas un problem, je peut aller au supermarché pour vous", **) Don answers with a nervous and shaky smile. Then he turns to Liza who looks at him confused. "Where's the supermarket?" he whispers. Leo and Mikey, who speak French as well, smiles secretly. The others just look confused. Then Liza shrugs. "I have never been at a supermarket", she admits and looks at her feet, suddenly ashamed of a fact that otherwise would have her swelling with pride. _I'm too good for something like this._

This surprises everyone. "Really? You gotta be kiddin' me!" Raph says and looks startled. „Even A've been ta supermarket befo'!„Liza's blush deepens, but she still refuses to look up. Antoine, who has obviously followed the conversation, switches to English now to cheer her up. With a smile he says "D'e suepermarced is rought down d'h streht!" and he waves his arm into the vague direction. "You will eat here?"The boys look at each other, unsure. Liza looks like she wishes they do though, and finally Mikey's stomach solves the situation. It growls loudly. "Ah, guess souh" Antoine smiles. "D'hen I fill neet some moohr think'z.." And he quickly writes down a list.

In the end they all - safe for the cook- decide to go 'down the street' together. Liza, because the guys made her curious about a supermarket. Don, because he offered it. Mike, because he senses some serious fun in the action; Raph, because he needs some fresh air and Leo because he doesn't want to leave his brothers alone with Liza. As they leave the house, Antoine sends a smile after them_. It is about time the girl finds some friends.. and they seem honorable._ With this, he starts cooking for six. He has a feeling it could be nice to stay today as well. And he promised Liza's parents to have an eye on her.

"So we just go down the street and there we are." Liza looks at Don questioningly. He shrugs in response. "Hey, it's your hometown, not mine." She makes a face mixed with embarrassment and amusement and cracks him a smile then. "You speak French really good" she changes the topic. He waves casually. "Actually, Leo's the one who's into languages. I'm the engineer." Liza flashes the Leader a side look but quickly turns away as she becomes aware of it. "And doctor", she adds. He frowns a little. "Actually, I wish I was better at.."

"Sieh mal einer an, wer da ist. Die kleine Lizzy und ihre bescheuerten Bodyguards." _1)_

Everyone stops cold at the voice. It has a mean ring to it. Liza knows immediately who's there, Raphael as well. "Shit" he mutters under her breath. Mike gives her a surprised look before everyone turns in unison. Leonardo scowls as he recognizes the boy from earlier the day- only this time, he brought company. There are seven of them at least, maybe more hiding in the shadows. Every one taller and more muscular than the last. They all show their teeth in grim (or dumb, depends on the point of view) smiles and clench their fists, obviously trying to look threatening.

Liza doesn't bother look up as she mutters: "Nicklas. Was willst du?" _2) _Instead she watches her feet that draw nervous circles through the snow. Raphael tenses when the boy approaches a few steps. "Oh oh oh, kein Grund, grantig zu werden", he mocks her. "Sei ein nettes Mädchen, sag deinen abgespacten Mackern, sie sollen verschwinden." _3_) _Before we make them_, his tone adds. Her mouth twists as if she tries to say something, but no words come out. The boys look at each other in confusion; even though they can guess what's happening, no one really understands what's said. No one but Leo, and the leader doesn't seem happy about it.

"Guys, you better get out of here." Liza finally manages a whisper. It sounds as if she's about to cry. This only stresses the decision the brothers already made. „Won't happen, girl", Mikey answers and raises one eyebrow.

"We ain't goin' anywhere." This is Raph, and once again Liza can't help but wonder _when _he had taken over the protective role from his older brother. _When did the mistrustful hot-head change into a soft protector? _But then again, maybe it is same like with Mike. _He has been given a role_. For a second Liza forgets her fear and thinks of traveling to America, or Japan, or wherever Nickelodeon is stationed. She has to talk something over with the editor of the series. Something _serious_. A demonstrative cough from Nicklas lets her thoughts snap into reality again. By now, eleven pairs of eyes stair at her, obviously waiting for something.

"Sorry, what?" she asks, a little lost.

"Sprich deutsch, Schlampe!" _4_) says Nicklas. The boy really has no manners. Someone has not beaten him up often enough as a child.. Or maybe he fell down a staircase and on his head.

"Cowabunga?" Mikey suggests.

"Count me in", Raph nods.

"I am not sure. Maybe they have weapons", interrupts Don.

"Could be", Liza agrees. The fear has left her now. She can't help but feel amused by the situation. After all, it can only be a big wonderful dream. So she can as well let Nicklas be beaten up by the guys, have a good laugh at it and wake up. "But not likely."

Leo says nothing until everyone turns to face him. Finally, he sighs. "Ah, whatever. Let's get this over with. I am hungry."

The two or three foes who actually speak English watch the conversation with increasing worry. The others remain where they are, big, fat and self-confident. They are filled with so much hot air they might as well fly away any second, but I digress.

"Macht sie fertig!" Nicklas screams all of a sudden and the fight begins. It would have been fun- the gang was no harder to fight than suggested, and they weren't even _suggested _beingdangerous in the first place- if not for the fact that Liza catches a fist in the stomach during about the first three seconds. She actually flies a few feet before landing in a snow pile. Meanwhile and unaware of this, the fight goes on. "Being warm-blooded really has it's advantages!" Don shouts with joy. For the first time the cold is not slowing his reactions. The answer are several agreeing shouts from around him.

"Hey, bist du okay?" a kind voice asks me when I wake up. I groan in response. My head hurts.. actually my complete upper body hurts. Ouch.

"Speak english, you confuse the readers" I press out. When I finally open my eyes, a startled and slightly worried boy leans over me. He has red hair and wears glasses. Realization comes slowly that I know him from somewhere, but can't quite place him.

"Uh, okay, if you want me to" he quickly says. _Everything the wounded wants, everything to prevent her from going into shock._ "Are you okay?" he repeats then.

I remember the fist colliding with my stomach now. Wow. This is a very, very realistic dream. "I am fine" I scowl and try to get up, but everything hurts.. My legs betray me and give in. I feel tears dwelling up in my eyes but can't move my hands to wipe them away, and suddenly I feel utterly helpless.

"Well, obviously you are not." He carefully helps me up, holding my arm. I don't care. I just want the pain to go away. Then the guys are there, not even breaking sweat, shoving him aside. "Hey," he protests weakly but stumbles to the left, angrily pushing his glasses further up his nose.

"Who are you?" Mike asks him aggressively. I can feel Donnie's hands already checking my ribs. I would blush if I had the power left, but right now, I don't really care about anything.  
"My name is Tobias Müller"  
I barely hear him say  
before everything  
just -

* * *

_*) Basically, they said: "Hello, are you a friend of Liza?" - "Yes, that's true. She's in the kitchen." - "I am Antoine ["Ahntuahne"], and I am the cook."_  
_**) "Oh my god, it's horrible! Where's the fresh cheese for dinner?" - "No problem, I can go to the supermarket for you."_

_1) "Look at who's there. Little Lizzy and her daft body guards."_  
_2) "Nicklas. What do you want?"_  
_3) "Oh, no need to get grumpy! Be a nice girl and tell these spaced guys to beat it."_  
_4) "Speak German, bitch!"_


	8. A Boy Named Tobias

_Here's Chapter 7, in which Tobias gets it.  
Funny, there can't be that many TMNT fans in Germany, and still...  
Ah, read it yourselves.

* * *

6 billion souls in the world  
And sometimes,  
All you need is one

* * *

_**Chapter 7**

_It hurts.  
Please, make it stop._

"How bad is it?" Mikey's voice shows worry, and he frowns heavily. His attention is completely focused on the girl in Donnie's arms.

Liza's body is limp in said arms. The purple-haired boy holds her firmly in a bridesmaid's carry. Everyone else has automatically formed a loose protection formation around them. Raph is checking her pulse; it is faster that usual, as far as he can tell, but since a turtle's heartbeat is slightly slower than a human's...

Oh. _Wait._

And with two fingers at Donny's throat, two at the girl's, he runs on. _One two three four five_.. Liza's pulse _IS_ faster that usual. Even though Don is running with weight in his arms, his heartbeat is steady; hers flutters like a wounded bird in a cage, desperate to break free. It actually frightens the redhead. "Dunno, really. Her heart's beatin' pretty fast. But she's not used ta battle an' it's prob'ly her first time injured? Aww, these ribs look like they'll hurt tomorrow..."

Don snorts but remains calm. Raph can handle an examination just as well as any one of them can. They are all trained in medical aid. Even though he himself is probably the best to do the job, _but no_, he has to carry the girl. When he asked the others to do so before, Mikey was busy chasing the remaining opponents around. (It would've been pretty funny: an adult, tall and muscular running and screaming for his mummy.) Raph's face turned into a tomato pretty much the second Donny lifted Liza's shirt, and Leo just stood there, a grim expression in his face, and said nothing. So the intelligent brother ended up carrying her home. Don frowns again as they rush towards the mansion. _Leo's behaving funny lately. Wonder what's up with him and Liza._

They turn around a corner when it happens. All of a sudden, Don looses his footing on the ice that covers the ground and _slips. _Raph runs past him and stops, too startled to react. With a girly scream, Mikey runs to the rescue, but before he reaches Donny, Tobias already grabbed Donny's elbow and steadied him- and Leo did the same on the other side. They both exchange a quick look- or, more like a glare- and let go, but the catastrophe is avoided. Catching his breath, Donny secures his grip and they go on.

_I want the pain to go away. Please. I can't take it._

Finally, they reach the front of the mansion. Tobias Miller, the boy from before, refused to leave the girl with four strangers. Since he does seem to know her somehow, they agreed to let him come with them. But now, in front of the house, it becomes obvious that he at least has never been here before.

"Wow. Was zum.." Then he remembers the guys only speak English. "Uh, I mean, what the..?" He tilts his head back as far as he dares without bending over backwards. "Seriously, to call this thing HUGE would be an understatement!"

Leo actually smiles at the statement and everyone else nods (or grunts, in Raph's case). Then Mike presses his hands on the door bell.

There are footsteps from inside and a strangely accented male voice singing "Üsch kommööööööh!" _(Which is the French interpretation of the German "Ich komme" similar to the English "Coming!"). _And then the door opens and ... there's Antoine. He smiles his usual, frightening smile at everyone. "Aah, come in, mes amis! Brought me my cheese, ah oui oui?" The boys stare at their feet- all but Don, who actually can't see his feet because Liza's in the way, and Tobias, who rushes past them and cries something not understandable in German which basically sounds like-

"Oh mein Gott Antoine es ist schrecklich da war Nicklas mit der Gang und sie haben uns angegriffen und die Typen hier haben uns geholfen aber sie haben Liza getroffen und jetzt ist sie verletzt! Und ich weiß gar nicht was ich machen soll und vielleicht sind ihre Rippen gebrochen und können Sie vielleicht eine Suppe machen oder Tee oder beides und wir brauchen ein Bett oder eine Couch und OH MEIN GOTT!"

Everyone stares at him in utter confusion. Fortunately, Antoine seems to have understood his no-points-and-commas-speech and his gaze flickers finally towards Liza. Who still hangs limp and actually pretty obvious in Donny's arms.

_I don't want this anymore._

"Ah, mon dieu!" Antoine shouts and claps his hands over his mouth in a shocked- and very girly- gesture. "Kommet hünein! Vite, vite!" (Half German with accent, half French for "Come in, hurry up!"). They do as they seemingly are told, Tobias coming first. But because he doesn't know the house, he stops in the hallway. _Wow. _Then Don rushes past him, followed by everyone but Antoine who returns to the kitchen, and the redhead loses no time to follow them.

In the living room- they actually almost got lost on the way!- Donny finally lays Liza on the couch. His arms hurt from the girl's dead weight, but still he loses no time but kneels by her side. He re-checks her pulse- it is weak and too fast, but steady. _Maybe she's in shock_, he wonders and touches her forehead to check her temperature. She flinches ever so slightly, causing Tobias to step forward in an angry gesture. But Mikey holds him back. "Let Donnie-boy do his magic" he says in a half-joking manner, but the strain and worry is obvious in his voice.

No one but Raph notices the way the boy flinches when Mike mentions Donatello's name. The way his eyes finally stop fixating Liza and start scanning the other guys. The way his mouth widens slightly until he finally shakes his head and his gaze wanders back to the girl. _Whaddisit with da kiddos those days_, Raph wonders but a moaning from the couch draws his attention towards Liza again.

"Ya see anything, braniac?" Mike peeks over his brother's violet head. Don flinches and frowns angrily while he and Leo- _yes, the leader actually moved_!- try to strip Liza out of her coat without breaking her arms.

"Mikey, stop it!" Don grunts. He tries to lift Liza with one hand and strip off her clothes with the other- not an easy thing to do when someone leans on your shoulders in an attempt to look over your head. Trust me. But Michelangelo just giggles and leans on him with even more weight.

"Raph", Don finally presses with serious efforts- "you do me a favor?"

"Betcha I will", the redhead answers with a diabolical grin. From the corner of his eyes he can see Tobias flinch and his eyes flicker towards Raph again. But the latter has more important things to do. Hitting Mikey, for example. The orange-haired brother shoots him big blue puppy-eyes. "Aaaaww, big bro, you wouldn't.."

The fist misses him for inches. Soon after, the room holds two boys less and screams can be heard from the hallway. Screams so high every girl would be proud to produce them.

Finally, Liza is stripped off her coat and pullover. Don actually blushes as he starts pulling up her shirt. _This doesn't feel right_, he can't help but think nervously, _it's like sneaking up on an unconscious girl.. _His hands shake a little, and with a sigh Leo takes his place, lifts the girl's top carefully until he has freed her ribcage and rolls it up so it won't slop down again. They all catch their breath when they see the huge bruise already forming where the fist hit the ribs.

"Ouch", Don whispers miserably. From the corner of his eye, he can see the boy- Tobias- flinch back and look away. Careful not to hurt Liza, the intelligent purple-head shakes off the funny feeling and then lays a hand onto the blue-black mark.

As if on cue, Liza flinches back violently and lets out a miserable whine. She is still unconscious, but her ribs seem to hurt a lot. Tobias hisses and Don pulls his hand back as if he burned it. "This doesn't look too good" he says quietly. "It may not be much, actually. But this girl is not a fighter. She's just a passenger. A rich, and thus delicate, one as well. Even if the ribs are only bruised, she'll be in a lot of pain when she wakes up."

They can still hear cries from the hallway, and something crashes with the sharp sound of china. Leo flinches and starts towards the door- just when Antoine enters. He carries a tablet with water glasses and some cups filled with chicken soup. "Mon dieu, yuur bruthers sure fight wit' strength" he chuckles. Don shrugs in an apologizing manner before he turns his attention back to the task at hand- examining the girl who let them use her bathroom and saved their lives. Behind him, he can hear Tobias fetch himself a glass of water and whisper thanks to Antoine. But the medic is quiet aware that he is still stared at with wary eyes.

"Okay, Leo, hold her wrist down for me so I won't hurt her", he starts with his orders. "But be careful, she may be ticklish.."

"Why don't I hold her hips or maybe her arms so she won't feel irritated," Leo starts but is interrupted by the sound of Raph and Mike re-entering the living room. Raph still has that diabolical smile on his lips, but additionally he looks quite pleased with himself. Mikey on the other hand desperately tries to re-arrange his orange hair. It looks as if he crashed headfirst into a wall- or a vase, for that matter. Which may actually be the case.

"Phew," the youngest brother grumbles irritated. "I swear it, Raphie, with that human face of yours- if you want to call your face so much as human, that is-" stepping back, he avoids another hit by his older brother who instead misses another vase by inches- "I swear, you actually looked like Hun."

"Aah, come back here and I'll put you _Hun_ where the sun don't.." Raph starts, angry again. He is interrupted, though, by Tobias. The boy had just shot the water in his mouth straight out his nose and now desperately tries not to choke.

"Uh, buddy, you alright?" Mike claps the bespectacled redhead on the back. Tobias takes a deep breath, looks up at him with exertion-caused tears in his eyes, and cracks:

"OH MY GOD. It's... You're.. OH. MY. GOD."

And everyone stares at his expression- everyone but Don, who finally looks up in triumph. "Nothing broken, just bruised. She'll wake up any second and.."

Then he realizes the sudden tension  
in the air and frowns.  
"What?"


	9. Wake Up!

_Here's chapter eight. From now on the chappies will remain the same since I haven't been that bad since. Sorry for all my long-time readers and thank you for your patience. Time for a totally new chapter to be written, don't you think?

* * *

Those who seek friends without mistakes  
Remain without friends.

* * *

_

**Chapter 8

* * *

**

When I wake up, everyone's silent.

At first I think I'm alone in the room. I can't hear anything, and since my eyes are kind of squeezed shut from the pain, I can't see to well either.

Then I realize a hand is lying on my naked, shirtless belly.

_What the…_

So I do the very first thing that comes to mind. I scream.

And trust me when I say- I can scream quite loud if I have to.

I realize my mistake the second the hand flinches away. It did so because I flinched. And now I pay for it, because the pain that radiates from my ribs is almost too much to bear.

What does an intelligent girl like me in a situation like this? Right. Roll into an embryo pose on the couch. Let me tell you one thing: with probably broken ribs, this is .. Not quite the best thing to do. It's good for the guys- cause it must be them around me- that the pain is blocking my vocal chords, because else way I'd have to take care of four deaf ninja afterwards…

Someone shouts commands. I don't recognize the voice right away, but everyone does as told: holding my wrists and hips down in a straightened position. As the pain finally becomes bearable, I realize that I am crying. How embarrassing.. But they still hold my hands down. I gotta let my tears flow freely down my face, and for some reason only girls in one room with model-like superheroes can understand, all I care about is that once again the mascara makes me look like a leech.

"… release her, I guess", I hear the ominous voice say. Everyone lets go of me, and this is when the thought occurs to me: _Maybe it would help clearing the situation if I opened my eyes._

Which I do then, and immediately.

The guys have formed a circle around me and stare at me half-shocked, half-relieved. Don is kneeling next to the couch and breathes heavily; Mike is right behind him, deep concern in his eyes. My own ones stay in his face for a while, because a deeply concerned Mikey is just nothing you see every day. Then there is Raph, smiling encouragingly at me- another stop-and-stare sight…

And Leo, standing next to my head in a half-crouched position. It then occurs to me that the voice must have been his. He didn't really talk much until now, which is why I didn't realize this fact right away, but it must have been. This voice… It's not changed by the transformation at all. How I love this voice is awkward, but hell, this is what it is.

And he smiles at me, too. His blue hair falls into his dark eyes in an inimitable way. When he talks to me, his voice is like a nightingale in front of the window in the morning- _chasing the night away_, and I immediately feel better. I know I should probably _listen_ to what he says- and he seems to thinks the same, because his brow furrows into a frown as I continue to stare at him without answering- but _HEY_, he finally talks to me! Leo, my personal hero, who avoided me until now, actually worries about me and…

_My girl instinct kicks in._

For everyone who does not realize what this means, let me tell you one thing. You can be the perfect Mister Galactica for someone- if you mistrust him/her and refuse to talk to him/her all the time, and then change your attitude all of a sudden, don't count on him/her to forgive you the same way.

Especially if the person is a her. Especially if it is me.

So instead of answering, instead of staring at him, instead of smiling and singing and laughing- I turn away and face Raph instead, in the opposite direction, and don't care about what Leo just said.

Because sulking is what I can do best, and so its what I do. If he wants to be my friend from now on, he'll have to earn it. The hard way.

_Aww.. I want to hug him_... How come the voice in my head is so mean to me? Insistent and persistent. _Shuddup, _I tell the voice but I know myself it sounds half-heartedly, pathetic.

Everyone stands around me, but I realize that their eyes flicker towards the boy every few seconds, at _Tobias_. No one says a word anymore, now that I'm silent, but they all think the same, I can read it in their faces. It is the same look they stared at me with when they saw the posters.

_How come everyone in this world knows us?_

… … … … … … … … …...

Raph wants to ask Tobias exactly this as he opens his mouth. The next second he almost trips, because a siren goes off with a high shriek..

"Mikey!" the red-haired brother shouts and turns. Only to see Donny with a shocked expression next to the couch. Liza is huddled up on the couch, whimpering now. Her eyes are squeezed shut with pain, but the tears still find a way out and over her face.

"What happened?" Raph hurries over to the couch. Don is quite red around his ears as he stammers, "she.. Woke up and I was.. I think she didn't know what was going on.." Liza lets out another whimper and crouches into an embryo pose which lets, to everyone's surprise, Leo take the lead. _Finally._

_She's not a foot. _It's all the leader can think off as he hurries over to the couch. _There's no way this is an act.. And there's no way a foot would react to a bruised rib this violently… I was wrong all along. Oh no.._

And then, _we have to help her._

"She's gonna hurt herself in this position", he starts. Raph stares at him slightly disappointed but nods nonetheless; they all know what to do and are glad for the leader to finally take the lead. "Don, grab her waist. Mike, help me with her wrists; we've got to straighten her! Raph, uh, say something nice and watch out for her feet, will you?"

Everyone does as he is told and a few moments later Liza lays stretched on the couch, still whimpering, but not as bad as before. Finally her breathing evens out, still rasping, but steady.

"Okay, you can release her… I think."

Everyone steps back as the girl opens her eyes for the first time. Her gaze wanders over all the faces.. And stops at _his._

_She's pretty nice eyes, _Leo can't help but think now that he's sure she's not the enemy and he finally takes a look at her.

"Hey, are you all right? You got us worried here for a minute." He tries a tiny smile, and she almost smiles back. Almost. Then, like a shadow flying over her face, her expression hardens and she looks away. At _Raph_.

_Ouch_. Leo actually flinches a little. _Okay, I guess I earned that… But still- RAPH? Ouch.._


	10. Face To A Smile, Fist In The Wall

_Here is chapter nine! Some more serious stuff about Mikey and Toby. And we get a hint to what Tobias wanted in the villa area in the first place! Can you catch it?

* * *

Genius is no more  
Than the ability to be patient.

* * *

_

**Chapter 9

* * *

**

They all are scattered around the house. Don, after finishing his examination of Liza's ribs, apologized one more time for shocking her before he left into the direction of the training room in the cellar. He was quickly followed by Raph who found the whole situation more than a bit awkward. Leo tried to apologize, too- several times, actually. But every time he started to do so, Liza'd cut him off. She would then out of the blue start to talk to someone else extra-loud and about some random stuff (_let me tell you here, everyone was quite impressed at her ability to actually find a new topic every time). _No one really knew what to do about it, they were all a little caught on the hop, actually. So they just let her be, and eventually Liza turned around and left for her room, leaving Leonardo standing lost and alone in the living room.

The leader went towards the kitchen afterwards to help Antoine clean up the dishes and cooking utensils he used for making the soup.

Mikey disappeared somewhere in between, no one really knew where to; it was not as if anyone noticed, actually.

So, in the end, Tobias Miller was literally the last man standing in the living area, simply because no one cared about him enough or rather, no one dared looking at him.

Actually, even though everyone had been shocked he knew them, they had all quickly enough forgotten the red-head on the chair when Liza'd started screaming. And then, when she'd been able to get up, he had not moved a bit. He was just forgotten there.

Now eventually he stands up with a sigh and tries to search his way out of the way-too-big building. Which is not as easy as it may seem. (_And in my opinion it doesn't even seem to be easy.) _He really needs to go home now since it is already late, and during winter the dark comes fast on sneaky feet, as they say in Germany.

When he reaches a staircase, he knows he must've done something.. not _quite _right. With yet another sigh, he starts to turn and try the opposite direction, when all of a sudden he makes out a noise from upstairs.

_Can as well ask 'em where to go, _he decides and moves upstairs.

There is a long corridor at the end of the staircase with what feels like thousands of doors. The noise is gone and everything is perfectly quiet; after all, Tobias _knows_ there's no one up here. Shaking his head in disgust, he turns around and starts to move downstairs once more. Somewhere in the middle of the progress, there is the noise again.

_Aah, you gotta be kiddin' me! _he thinks, but now that he's certain he's not imagining things he is also curious about the source. Once again, upstairs it goes. To his shame the boy has to catch his breath for a moment once he's reached the corridor again- but then again, there are really many steps and_.. Never mind._

Muffled by the walls, Tobias can still make out a faint rustle coming from the right. Stopping in front of every door for a second, he slowly moves into this direction. And then he finds the right room and slowly, carefully opens the door.

On first sight it seems to be a simple storeroom. One as big as his own bedroom at home, but still, a storeroom. The lights are out, but there is enough of it coming in from the corridor to make out vague forms.

Somewhere in the back a shadow moves, but it's too fast and faint for Tobias to be sure. "H.. Hallo? Ist jemand hier?" he asks. When there is no reaction, he frowns and turns to close the door again. Then he remembers that it could very well have been one of the four american boys, and if so they did not understand his question at all. Reopening the door, he tries again. "Hello? Someone here?"

Again, there is no reaction; the shelves give no answer. But this time Tobias is very sure to have seen a movement from somewhere hidden behind them. "I'll turn on the light now", he announces while his hand searches for the switch.

Then someone appears in front of him and with a shocked sound, Tobias flinches backwards and stands in the corridor again.

It really is one of the boys; Mikey, to be precise. He holds up his hands in defense. A huge grin flashes over his face as he teases, "heya buddy, scared you with ma mad ninja skills?"

Tobias smiles back automatically, but he has not missed the tears glittering on the other boy's cheeks. "Yeah, pretty awesome, man" he answers in the same teasing manner and moves past the younger boy to take a look at the still dark room. "What did you do in here? Looking for utensils to play a prank on Raph?" and before Michelangelo can stop him, he switches on the light.

There is nothing unusual at first sight (_besides the fact that this room is just freaking BIG). _Eyebrows raised, the redhead turns towards the turtle-now-boy-whatsoever when from the corner of his eye he discovers it. There, hidden behind a shelf, is an impact sign in the wall. Big as a fist, and pretty deep.

"Sheesh", Tobias says as he switches out the lights. "Want to talk about it?"

For a second, Mikey looks as if he is going to deny everything. But the redhead won't give up this easily. He has siblings himself and thus he thinks he knows what to do. And Mikey has always, _always _been his favorite character from the series.. After all, he is so easy to take a shine on everyone.

And seeing him faking a smile with tears glittering on his cheeks is not just _out of characte_r. It's just plain _wrong._

… … … … … … … …

"Why didn't you just go to the training room with your brothers if you had to let out some steam?"

They sit in another room, this one has a huge billiard table in it. Tobias tries to break through to his new "dude" with a half-mocking attitude; it doesn't work too well, though. Lips pressed shut, Mike simply refuses to answer.

"Aaargh, I give up. You win. 1000 points for the turtle titan, everyone's favorite hero", Tobias finally shouts out in frustration and throws his hands into the air. Mike gives him the tiniest smile about it. "You see," the redhead goes on, "this is just not.. right."

"Are we talking about the 'turned into humans'-, the 'different dimension'- or the 'me being damn cute'-part?" Mike shoots back for the first time. He still has this 'everything's-fine' grin plastered across his face, but his hands are balled to fists and twitching nervously. Tobias then realizes that while watching the series and the movie, he had never paid any attention to their movements other than mimic and fighting style. Maybe they hadn't been shown there anyway, but still. Right now knowing their habits and such would really be helpful.

"I'm talking about the 'hiding in a dark closet while punching the wall'- part", he says softly.

Michelangelo's grin fades away for a second. It is obvious he needs some expenditure to put it back on. "I- I didn't punch no wall in no house that's not mine" he denies. But Tobias shakes his head. All of a sudden, he's angry about it. "Ah hell yes you did! The question is not the if, it's the why! You afraid to cry in front of the others? Are they teasing you?"

Mike shakes his head and opens his mouth but the other boy interrupts him. "What is it? Sick of being the clown? Need time for yourself? Just wanting to crash a fist into someone's wall? TELL ME _NOW!"_

The orange-haired boy's blue eyes have gone wide. "Whoa, pal, calm down" he says and then frowns. "Uh, I am not sure we are talking about the same thing here, though. Why does everyone in this world keep referring to _me_ as the clown?"

The seriousness of this question somehow takes the wind out of Tobias' sails. (German for 'stops him' :-P) "Ah, because you _are_?" he asks back, really confused now. Mikey answers this statement with a frown and another vehement shake of his head. "No, I am not. Actually, no one really laughs about me. _Raph's_ the secret fun-maker in the lair" he corrects.

The two of them just stare at each other in confusion for a minute. Then Tobias speaks up. "Raph. Is. The clown."

Michelangelo nods, "_I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON_" plastered across his face in bold letters. They continue to stare. And frown. And stare a little longer.

And then they laugh out in synchronization. They laugh until the tears stream down their faces and their stomachs hurt, and then they still don't stop.

… … …

"So why did you hide in that closet after all?" Tobias asks after they both have discovered a bathroom behind one of those million doors. They wash the traces of tears off their faces and cool their swollen eyelids in trustful companionship. Mikey rubs his face with a towel the redhead hands him before he answers.

"Why are we washing our faces now?" he asks back. Tobias frowns a little when he thinks about this. "I guess because we don't want to let the others know that we are crying?" he answers. "But.. They are your _brothers, _after all!"

Michelangelo shrugs. "Crying's an embarrassing thing, no matter where or in front of whom", he says. Tobias nods in agreement. "Guess so", he whispers. "And why were you crying in the first place?"

Mikey hides his face when he hears that and his companion realizes he may have asked too much. "Oh, I am sorry.." he says but is interrupted by Michelangelo's answer. "I was just.. It's a little much to take after all" he admits quietly.

Tobias bites his lower lip in agreement. Of course it is. "Sorry", he says again but Mike shrugs once more. "'s okay, ya know, it's not your fault." He finds back to his old annoying grin. "So what is your role in this game? Quite a crush on da girl, haven't ya?" and he gives the other boy a friendly punch to the shoulder.

Tobias almost chokes on his own breath. He actually stumbles before he can recollect himself. "Crush on LIZA? Aah, please! She doesn't even recognize me." As he sees the questioning gaze Mikey gives him, he explains. "We met once in the central.. this is where I live, you know." They reach a corner of the corridor and make a turn to the left. "I helped her out.. This girl does not even know how to use the _bus_." They both chuckle a little at that thought. "So.. I had a job to do around here. But since you kind of finished it for me, I figured I could as well try and help her." He smiles. "Though I guess Michael will be worried about me by now.."

Mike stops him. "Wait. Who is this 'Mi-schah-ehl' guy?" He has some trouble with the German pronunciation. Once again Tobias can't help but chuckle. "It's Michael", he pronounces it different to make it sound English, "like your name. He's my boyfriend."

"Ah", Mike says and scratches his head with a grin. "Seems I'll have to learn some German after all, befo- wait, what?" He takes a step back and the redhead automatically ducks his head. "Uh, my, ah, boyfriend?" he repeats unsure. His head is racing through memory files about America. _New York is in which state and homosexuality is allowed there yes or not?_

"You mean best friend or something?" Mikey already jumped to his own conclusions. "Boyfriend's not the right word for it." Mimicking a teacher, he holds up his pointing finger. "It is only used for partnership." Tobias secretly rolls his eyes but decides to leave it at that.

"Maybe I can give you some English lessons in exchange for German lessons later on", Michelangelo goes on. "I do that for Raphie all the time."

Tobias stares at him with disbelief as they walk down the stairs and back in the direction of the kitchen. _(Or at least it's what they hope they're doing..)_

"Oh, Mike, you are SO out-of-character!"

As they turn around another corner, Mikey throws up his hands in defeat.

_"Why does everyone keep saying me that?"_


	11. Some More Mike 'n' Tobi Stuff

_New Chaaaaapter :-) 'Ve been in the Netherlands for 2 days and found the time to write a little. Sorry sorry sorry for the hiatus. My PC broke so often I can't count it. I hate that.  
Today's song:_

_It's my life,  
It's now or never  
I ain't gonna live forever  
I just wanna live while I'm alive  
Cause It's My Life

* * *

_**Chapter 10: Some more Mike-'n'- Tobi - Stuff**

They walk in silence through the huge house, but it doesn't feel awkward. They each follow their own trains of thoughts. The only sign of their companionship is the gazes flickering between them and a smile on the two boys' faces.

Then the corridor splits up into two directions.

"Uh", Mike speaks first. Tobias looks into the left hallway. Then into the right one. Then towards the orange-haired boy. "Hmm" he agrees. He has no idea either.

"They should make maps for this house!" Michelangelo is quiet impressed. "Honestly, I think I came from somewhere here, but I really can't say from where exactly. Aww." He shrugs. "Maybe we should call the police and ask for further instructions." He starts to chuckle about his half-hearted joke but quickly stops when he recognizes the huge grin on Tobias' face. "What?"

Tobias continues to grin. "This is so fuckin' awesome, sorry for my choice of words" he states and Michelangelo knows he means it. "I mean, I am standing here with my greatest hero ever, in a house ten times as big as mine, and he tells me a joke! It's just.." He searches for the right words, but finds none. Instead he spins around and laughs. "I hope I never wake up."

Mike laughs. "Thanks for the compliment. But- what do you mean, wake up?" Now the red-head is confused. He decides to stay where they are and takes a seat on the floor before suspiciously eyeing his new friend. Tobias sits down as well and shrugs.

"I mean, this has to be a dream. You are a cartoon hero, after all." He leans back at the wall and stares at Mikey with the old grin on his face. "But still it is awesome-beyond-dreaming." He sighs relaxed.

"I think of myself of being very real, thanks" Mike answers not amused, He frowns and leans towards Tobias. "What makes you think you are dreaming? I sure hope it's me who has to wake up. And that I'm gonna do it soon." He sighs. "I miss sensei."

Tobias stares at him. Michelangelo stares back. They eye each other, not sure what to do. But slowly, as time passes, they begin to realize that this situation, them sitting here in Liza's house, is very much real.

Then they start to laugh. Hard. Hysterically. And in this moment they truly become friends.

"So", Tobias says to break the silence. It's a relaxed silence, but he decides to fill it nonetheless. "How about learning a new language while searching for the exit?"

The two boys have decided to take the left way after they stopped laughing. By now they passed about three corners into both directions and gain the impression that this house is just endless and they'll never make it back to the exit.

"Ya mean german?" Mikey thinks about the offer, then he grins. "Fine, why not. Where do we start?"

Tobias smiles back. "Lets start at the start. The first words. I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they." He underlines his words with his hands. "The english 'I' is in german 'Ich'." He looks at Michelangelo until the orange-haired boy repeats the word. "Ish" he tries and nods. "Understood."

"'You' is similar to 'du'." Mike repeats again- "do", and nods again. "Okay." They both have fun with their new occupation. "'He'- 'er', 'she'- 'sie', 'it'- 'er'", Tobias goes on and Mikey tries to follow. "Er, See, As" he tries and laughs. "German is a crazy language." They punch each other in the ribs in friendship and turn around another corner.

"The last ones are 'we' which is 'wir', 'you' which means 'ihr' and 'they' which is 'sie' again" the redhead finishes and the youngest ex-turtle-brother repeats. "Were, ear and see" he says and smiles, proud of himself. "Yeah, that's why I'm the language genius. Ish, do, er, see, as, were, ear, see. See?"

They laugh. Turn around the next corner. And bump directly into Raph who comes out of a bathroom in just this moment.

"Hi, Raphie-baby!" Michelangelo tries to tease him, but the addressed counters with a "yo ho, baby barbie" and chuckles before he turns to leave. Mikey moves his fingers through his really long-grown hair and sniffs. "Pure jealousy" he states before he shouts after his older brother. "Hey Raphie, where're you going?" The two redheads chase after the third. "Kitchen" he shouts back and runs down a staircase.

Tobias and Michelangelo exchange a look before Tobi asks after Raph: "So you know the way?"

Raphael turns laughing. "What, ya don't? It's not like t'is house's a lab'rint, ya know." And he continues to walk down the stairs.

"Uh", Mikey says.

"Hmm", Tobias agrees.

Then they follow him.


	12. Leo And Liza Sitting On A Tree

_Hello, hello, everyone.  
I'll definately update more often now. Again, I am SO sorry.  
I am rewriting this story as I speak, by the way. So it may be good for you to re-read it if you want the whole story in a more correctly written, shortened way. Or something.. Because, JJN, you are SO right. It's kinda boring at Liza's right now. I need the action to speed up.  
Boom. :-)_

* * *

**Chapter 12: Leo and Liza sitting on a tree…**

After the whole trouble was over, Leonardo went to the kitchen to help cleaning up. Even though it was Antoine's and the maidens' job, he still felt responsible. As always.

When the other brothers went out as well, heading into different directions, it left Liza alone in the living room. Which annoyed her. She quickly thought it over.. And ended up with Leonardo as if she was metal and he a magnet.

*****

"What's up?" I ask as I enter the kitchen. A look around tells me the cleaning up has already ended; the table and armatures are as shiny as always. The only one remaining in the kitchen besides myself is Leonardo, sipping on a tea occasionally whilst staring into space.

My question makes him look up, look at me. He frowns, but quickly smoothens his face as he continues to watch me. "So, you are talking to me again?" He chuckles softly which makes me blush.

"Aye, someone has to give in" I agree lightly and approach him. "Mind if I take a seat?" He doesn't, so I sit down in front of him. For a few moments, we just exchange glances.

He's really pretty, I have to give him that. I've always been fascinated by his turtle form- by all of their turtle forms- but Leonardo hasn't lost his appeal due to his change to a boy; if anything, he became even more attractive. He has this half-long hair I love about boys, _perfect to run hands through_; the strange blue color gives his face a nice touch. It doesn't look like it's dyed- I mentioned this before-, _which is really cool_. Then there's his muscles, clearly seeable under his light caramel-coloured skin, _he must have trained a lot_. His delicate, long-fingered hands, _like a pianist.._. And his eyes- like onyx water. I can't look into them for too long or else I'll probably drown there. Happy.

Aww, I think I'm actually blushing. Again.

"What are you drinking?" I have to ask something to break the silence which, after I stop analyzing him, seems unbearable. Additionally he's still looking at me, somewhat amused. He answers but takes his time to sip at it first. "Green tea without sugar" he then says and watches in amusement as I make a face.

"Why would you drink something like that?" I ask, seriously disgusted. I mean- tea, okay. Green Tea, okay. Tea without sugar.. Eww, but okay. But GREEN TEA WITHOUT SUGAR? Hell no!

Looking at his cup, Leo shrugs. "Couldn't find the sugar", he simply says and takes another sip of the greenish liquid.

I watch him as he musters the newspaper in front of him, probably thinking if it is safe to read it. He then decides no and looks away. His expression shows no hint of the bitterness or anything related to the tea at all.

"Let me try." Longingly, I hold out my hands reaching for the drink. He looks into my face, slightly startled. "You sure? It's pretty strong." For a second I have to remember my breathing as I drown into these onyx pools… But then I shake my head and the moment is over. "Now I want to know it" I state and wrinkle my nose, foreseeing something not-so-much-fun in my near future.

Shrugging, he hands me the cup and I take a huge mouthful. Oh. It's not as bad as I imagined.

It actually is a whole lot worse.

"Gaah", I manage to breathe and he laughs. "Told you so."

"Told ya so", a voice behind me says and I turn around irritated. Am I hearing echoes? But it's just Raphael entering the kitchen, followed by Mikey and .. This boy. Suddenly he seems familiar to me, with this deep-in-thought look on his face. "Tobias", I think loud.

"Hm?" he looks at me, as irritated as I. But before I can voice my thoughts any more, Mikey happily pipes in. "Aww, look what we have here! Leo and Liza, sitting on a tree…"

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G", Raphael finishes slapping his younger brother at the back of his head with every letter. "Excuse mah, a guess a cert'n someone needs ta let off som' steam" he waves off and drags the orange-haired boy out of the room. I think I hear Tobias whisper a "I don't think so" and exchange a glance with the young one, but I'm not too sure.

Then the three of us are alone in the room. Red as a tomato, I shove the tea back to its owner and lean back in my chair. The blue-haired boy in front of us stares out of the window, seemingly deep in thoughts again; maybe he's already searching for a way back home. I don't think he even cares about Mikey's remark, which (to be honest) stings a little. Then my gaze wanders over to Tobias, who -

Stares at Leo in simple amazement.

His eyes flicker over to me for a second, and grinning I make a gesture with my hand as if pushing my chin up to close my mouth. He understands and grins as well, quickly looking away from the clan leader.

Suddenly a strange melody appears. I look around startled, as well as Leo, who's pulled out of his thoughts; then the red-head pulls out a phone and answers it, quickly glancing at us.

"Yeah?"

Someone talks rapidly at the other end of the line, and Tobias answers in german, his eyes wandering to the clock at the wall in shock. "Meine Güte, so spät schon! Es tut mir Leid, honey, ich bin da in was reingeraten…" He is interrupted but quickly adds, "Ich bin im Villenviertel hinten.. Ja, die große weiße- wirklich? Gut." [_My, this late already! I'm sorry, honey, I kind of got into something here (…) I'm in the villa part of town.. Yeah, the big white - wait, really? Okay…]_ He blushes- I can't believe he actually does- and breathes a "bye kiss" into the device before turning back to us, his face still heated up. "Uh, sorry about this."

I'm chasing through my memory until I find the connection. Tobias and I have talked this certain day at the Tube station... "This was Michael?" I can't help but to sound excited. From the corner of my eyes, I see Leo frown, obviously he's trying to put 'honey' and 'Michael' into one sentence. Tobias stares at me wide -eyed. "How did you know?"

"I remember you", I explain enthusiastically. "You helped me out in town once, right?" He nods and I blush. He had remembered all this time and I didn't even get he was here. "Aww, sorry 'bout that" I start, but he cuts me off, winking at me. "Nah. No problemo."

Smile from him. Smile back from me.

"So he's coming over?" I ask and he nods. Leo's still frowning, but he seems to have a clue now as his nose wrinkles considering the possibility that the redhead is actually in love with another boy. I can see this very kid tensing as he watches the leader as well, but finally Leonardo relaxes and smiles.

"How about us waiting outside for him?" he considers. "Meanwhile we can talk a little- or something." I am quick to agree, and Tobias does as well, so soon after we are all shoved into three layers of clothing and standing at the front door.

"Why is it okay for you? About me, being, uh, gay and all" Tobias comes to the point quick enough. He (and I too) is probably thinking about the strict education the boys must have gotten from their sensei. "I often see other guys changing their attitude towards me once they know." He looks to the ground ashamed, and suddenly I pity him a little. It makes me want to hug him.

Leo only shrugs. "You have your boyfriend. It is, after all, your thing what you do." A sad smiles crosses his features. "I'm a little jealous, actually."

Before any of us can react, Tobias spots Michael turning around a corner and jumps into the snow to run towards him. Both Leo and me watch smiling as the two reach each other and hug tightly.

And somehow I'm not cold at all, because all I can think about is Leo's remark and the thought jumps salts in my head- _Leo wants a girlfriend."_


	13. Jealousy And Love

_Here is a new chapter. Finally. For those of you who wonder what I did all this time, I have a looooooong list right here, just ask for it and I'll give it to you. :D Mostly it was rewriting this story for a start. All these mistakes really embarrassed me. It was horrible. So I just had to do this, okay?  
I hope you're still with me and bear with me. If you don't, I really AM sorry about this. Additionally, I'll be gone again soon. My family gave me 4 weeks in America as a birthday present, and before I am in Sardinia for a week with friends. I hope you are all well. Here it goes!_

_Oh yeah, there is one part of this chapter written from Michael's POV, just in case you wondered. It's the centered part._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 12**

It's getting dark outside now. The sun sets fast enough behind the tall buildings, and the air cools down even more with every minute. Soon they all stand in the entrance hall. I invited Michael into the house and he quickly agreed, his gaze flickering to Leonardo from time to time but saying nothing more. Tobias is totally oblivious to this fact and clings to Michael's arms the whole time. I can tell that Leo sees the gazes, though. He has this little frown in his eyes that doesn't reach his skin, but you still se it.

I have some time to muster the foreign boy standing in front of me. His skin is darker than Leo's, Tobias' and mine, but still of a light caramel color. His hair is deep brown, but there are some white strands mixed into it that make it look unique and pretty cool. He is also very tall, like Leo, and much taller than Tobi who has to look up to him. So have I. His dark green eyes drink in every detail of his surroundings, and he hasn't undressed his jacket yet.

"So, you're from America", Michael finally says. There is suspicion in his tone as well as another tone I can't quite identify, and Leo frowns even more when he looks up. "Yes, this is true", he confirms and, after a short second, holds out his hand. "My name is Ham- Leonardo Hamato." I smile slightly when I catch this little Japanese habit of telling the last name first, but say nothing. Michael slowly takes the offered hand and shakes it. "Nice to meet you. My name is Michael."

Then he turns to face me. "And you have to be Liza, I believe", he asks. Somehow his voice sounds much friendlier to me than to Leo, and I see that the Leader as well as Tobias notice this as well. Nonetheless I shake hands with him. "That's right. Welcome to my home."

"Thank you for the invitation and for taking care of Tobi who was about to do _something really stupid", _Michael continues. Somehow his tone sharpens at the end of the sentence, and the redhead flinches. I wonder what this is about and this is the first time the question pops up in my mind- _why was Tobias here in the first place? _But before I can react, Michael looks out the window into the darkening day and sighs.

"I really do thank you, but now it is time for us to leave. It is getting dark outside and we need to catch the next train. Excuse us." He starts towards the wardrobe and Tobi's jacket, but the redhead hesitates and stops the movement.

"But", he disagrees, "it's only six o'clock now. We have plenty of time, why not stay a little longer?" His voice and eyes both are pleading, but Michael doesn't seem to sure about the idea. "I don't-" he starts but I cut him off. "You can stay for the night as well, if you want to", I say in the same pleading tone. "I don't mind. The boys stay too, we could have a sleepover!"

"The boys?" Michael asks, and his eyes narrow. Oops. Didn't I tell him? But Tobias is quicker to answer than me. "Leo has his brothers here, too", he chatters happily. "It's his younger siblings Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo." Now he smiles. "Mikey's name reminds me of you."

Michael doesn't really listen to him. Instead, he straightens up and reaches for Tobias' jacket again. "This is a bad idea. Besides, you have school tomorrow, Too." It sounds as if these are his final words about it and I slump my shoulders when I see Leo narrow his eyes as well.

"No, I haven't." Tobias, or Too how Michael called him _(ain't that CUTE or what?), _crosses his arms. He actually releases Michael's arm for this. "What's your problem, Mick? You know tomorrow's a free day and besides, why are you in such a hurry?" His voice softens and his eyes are pleading again. "Come on, _pleeeeease?"_

It is this moment Leo and I know for sure the two boys will stay overnight. And so it is.

… … … … … … … …

_What am I doing here?_

Somehow everyone ended up in the living room again. Liza said there were air mattresses or something, but she couldn't find it, so these boys brought several bed mattresses in from different rooms, and the couch is certainly big enough for two or three people at least. Looks like we really will stay for the night. Too's mum is already informed, and I think she is actually quite happy about it. I know I should be as well, because I rarely ever see Too this relaxed and happy other than when he is with me and his mother. It's strange, but somehow this makes me kind of angry.

The boys, as Liza referred to them, seem to be really nice. There is Leonardo, who is really tall, has onyx eyes and a strange light blue hair color. His skin is really white but not pale. More like ivory. He seems to be the oldest of them and they all listen to him most of the time. He's rather quiet though. More of a listener himself than a speaker, taking care, protecting and organizing and watching.

The second one in age has to be Raphael. He has dark red hair, obviously dyed even though I don't get how he did it because it looks all natural. His eyes are of a sparkling golden color, or maybe more like sun-lit amber, which is really strange but suits him. His skin is really dark, though, as if he were outside far more often than his brothers. He is taller than Leo, but only a little, and you only notice it when they stand directly next to each other. He is also very protecting, but it's a different way of protection he offers. While Leonardo seems to be the one taking responsibility and seems likely to get in the way of danger, Raphael is more of a do-er. He is into solving the problem before it gets bad.

Donatello is really a quiet boy. His purple hair falls into his deep brown eyes in a way that shows he is rather shy and holds back a lot. He is not as tall as the others even though he still towers above Tobias, but he is smaller than me. Other than Leonardo's, his skin looks like he doesn't get enough sunlight. He takes care from the background, and his brothers often ask him for advice. From the little he talked until now you can see he is really well-educated and loves sciences and this stuff.

Last is Michelangelo who is easily exposed as the youngster. His hair is bright orange and so is his mood. This guy is really jumpy and can't sit still for a minute. His bright blue eyes sparkle with so much life that it is really difficult not to smile when he is near you. The color of his skin is hard to identify, but I would call it mocha if it were up to me. And he really is into telling jokes and puns which are not funny at all, or at least this is what everyone save for Too thinks. Weird. The two seem to be best friends all that easily.

All four of them are muscular and good-looking. Charming as well. I realized from the beginning that Liza, the owner of the house, meets them with a mix of respect and admiration, and I really wonder who they are and what they are doing here in Germany. Maybe they are related to the Mays in some way even though they don't share their last name. Or maybe they are models of some sort and stay here for a shooting. It certainly could be this from the looks of them.

They are nice and look good and Too really likes them.

_So what am I so mad about?_

… … … … … … … …

The boys helped me put some mattresses from the bedrooms into the living room. They were really, really heavy (the mattresses, not the boys) and I still wonder how they made it. But then again, Donnie managed to carry me all the way from the place of the attack home. _In a bridesmaid's carry_. Or this is what Mikey told me to make me blush. He puts quite some effort in this task. It's a miracle, though. I mean, HEY, I can't even hold a sack of potatoes in a bridesmaid's for a few minutes! Is this awesome?

However, now there are four mattresses in the room and additionally we extended the couch. It's already decided that Mikey, Raph and Don sleep on the couch and Tobias and Michael on one mattress so that Leo and I each have one, even though Leo got kind of mad about this and discussed it for long minutes with the guys. In the end Mikey made puppy-eyes and whispered that he had hoped to be able to sleep in company and that he'd thought Leo was the one who was best at sleeping on his own and all this. Of course Leo agreed with that and didn't argue anymore. Sneaky, Mikey, sneaky.

Michael, Tobias' boyfriend, seems to be really nice, but he is a quiet guy. He just sits there and watches what's going on, especially around his 'Too'. He still looks uncomfortable, though, and I can see Leo eying him from time to time.

"So how about a midnight snack!" Mikey calls out just in this moment. He is totally cheerful, as always, and also totally oblivious to the fact that Michael's expression hardens when the red-head claps hands with Tobias. Leo shakes his head in disbelief and only barely hides a smile. Donnie's head snaps up from a book he found in our library and he stares around in confusion. _(Ever since he found this room he's hardly audible. I guess he really has a hard time home in the lair.) _As for Raph, he walks over to Mike and slaps him on the head with a loud, rich '_smack'._

"What was this about?" Mikey protests after he crawled up from where he fell to the floor. Raph, who walked past him and sat down on the couch in the meantime, rises an eyebrow and smirks. "Knucklehead, it's not even eight", he answers and waves towards the clock on the wall. "Whaddidcha think about getting a midnight snack now, huu?"

Eye rolling everywhere, but in agreement to Raphael and laughing about Mikey. The redhead knows this as well. "Ah" he grumbles and sits down next to Raph. "Let's watch a movie, then."

I knew this had to happen one day.

"This is not our home, Mikey", Leo groans. "We can't just sit here and watch movies and disturb people we hardly know…"

"I got animations, and horror movies, and disney, and comedy… choose whatever you like" I interrupt and show him our movie collection. Mike's eyes go huge when he sees them. "Awesome!" he breathes, and then he's buried into titles and excited screams.

Leo raises one eyebrow at me and I stick out my tongue at him.

From the corner of my eye, I see Michael and Tobias talking rapidly. But I quickly forget about this when Leo taps the couch next to him with his hand to indicate I should take a seat.

_Next to him._

_Even when Mikey picks a Horror Movie, I don't bleat at all. I have a total brain melt, and I love it._


	14. Irritation

_I'm back from America...  
Long story short, something went terribly wrong with the flight: The plane had me in it and it flew to Germany.  
I forgot my family in California...

* * *

_

_Seven a.m., my head's already in a spin and  
As soon as I'm out that door, BAM  
It hits me like a ton of those red bricks...  
[Simple Song / Miley Cyrus]  
_

_

* * *

_**Chapter 13

* * *

**

"What is the matter with you?"

Tobias' voice is low but sharp. He is sitting a bit aside of the crowd on the sofa, on one of the hastily layd-down matresses, and has his arms crossed over his chest. Object of his question is Michael, who sits next to him, staring at the ceiling, the floor, everywhere but into his boyfriend's eyes. He cann't help but flinch at the anger concealed in the question. _He is right._

Instantly, Tobias' eyes are soft again. "No. No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like that-" he breaks off as Michael leans over and embraced him in a tight hug. "'S okay", the taller boy murmurs into his friend's shoulder. "You're right. I don't know what's gotten into me. I am horrible right now." He lets out a small sigh, and the exhaled air tickles the skin at Tobias' neck. _"_It's just..." He stops, unsure what to say. Where to start. _I don't like these boys. How do you know them? Why are you so comfortable around them? How come they treat you like an old friend and you haven't even told me about them once? They are pretty and unique and muscular, and American, and I am just..._

"I guess I'm jealous." The words come out before Michael really means to think, even less say them. It is just a whisper, barely audible with all that noise in the background, but he said it, and now there is no taking it back. Tobias' shoulders stiffen in his embrace, and he pulls away, just enough to see into those green eyes that he fell in love with from the first second.

"You", he says, disbelief obvious in his tone. "_You _are _jealous_?" He raised his voice enough for others to hear them, and even though everyone seems focused on the slaughtering that continues to fill the huge plasma TV screen, Michael can't help but notice Leonardo's eyes flickering towards them for just a split second before turning back to the movie again. He is about ready to just stand up and leave at this point. _I shouldn't have come, _he thinks bitterly, and then Tobias starts laughing.

It is not just regular laughter, or maybe a loud giggle. The red-head totally _cracks up_. Pulling away from his boyfriend, he falls backwards and hits his head, but it only makes him laugh harder, and then they reach the point where it is just ridiculous and Michael joins his laughter, followed by Michelangelo and finally everyone else.

It is a funny picture, with all these boys and the girl in their middle laughing in front of 'Dawn of the Dead', with tears streaming down their faces. But it is also a sweet picture. If anyone were here this moment, they could possibly _feel _the tension of the long day bleeding out of everyone, see shoulders relaxing, and honest smiles cover faces.

It is a funny picture.  
Union.

* * *

I wake up in the morning because someone moves.

At first, I am totally disoriented. Everything is dark and blurry, just barely enough to make out rough shapes.. Huge shapes, nothing like my desk and chair would look like. My bed doesn't feel familiar, either; it's too hard and.. flat.

_Wait a second. _

I blink rapidly, and slowly my vision clears enough for me to see the red light of the TV standby button above me, and orientating on this, I can finally connect the shapes around me to .. the living room.

_What am I doing in the living room? _I wonder. Something in the back of my head tingles, and there is a memory. But I am not awake enough to get a hold of it. _Zombies.. Something with zombies. And laughter..?_

The movement reappears, a slight rustle and a sway of the matress she's lying on. If it weren't for my night-sharpened senses_, _I am not sure I would've been able to hear anything at all, with the guys' mad ninja skills and...

My memory comes back just in time to see someone standing up on the other side of the room- a darker shadow among dark shadows. A quick glance at the TV clock tells me it is about 5 a.m. and my mind instantly jumps to only one possible conclusion. _Leonardo. _He is the only person I kno that would voluntarily stand up this early..

_Leonardo!_

Everything comes rushing back at me in this second. The whole last day unfolds in front of me-  
-F_our boys in the streets - no shoes, but the snow covers the ground like a blanket - an invitation - a fight. Tobias. Michael-_

"Oh shell", I say out aloud before I can stop the words.

What happens next I can not say for sure. It all happens in a blurr. I remember Leonardo, because it really is him, whirling around at the sound of my voice, and then something- no, some_one _heavy jumps me and pinns me out of my half-sitting position to the floor. Muffled shouts, disoriented and blurry, can be heard in the background, and someone yelps, and above all that, there is a sudden and sharp pain as whoever is restraining my wrist puts some of teh pressure against my chest...

I cry out, and the lights switch on.

I am told later that Mikey got the situation under control first. Leo had troubles finding the switch, because where I was disoriented, _he _was almost panicking. Raph fell right off the couch and onto Tobias' arm when I spoke, too surprised to get up fast enough on the disturbingly soft surface of the mattress he'd landed on, and it had been Donnie, _Donnie _of all means, who had me pinned before he even opened his eyes.

Thinking about that now, I can almost see it in front of me. But back then, all I could hear was my own blood rushing in my ears, could only feel the pain in my ribs and the suffocating feeling that came along with it. _I need air. _Mikey had pulled Donnie off me after only a few seconds, but no one had been in any state to actually get a grip and do anything, because- how did Leo put it again?

"_Shell. I thought it was a dream.."_

And Raph answered, _"Yeah, I know."_

And to hear these words hurt  
me more than my  
bruised ribs  
did._  
_


	15. Teasing? Shouting!

Chapter 15 on the go. I decided to get this fic over with first, then What If ..., and then I'll start uploading this new one I've been working on.. but I won't tell! :D  
The quote below is from DA MidnightSun88's "How Leo feels". It deeply impressed me. Such a huge insight. I suggest you go to DA and check out the whole text._  
JJN, great to have you back!_  
_OH MY GOSH! MIKELL REVIEWED MY STORY! OMG! AAH! *faints* no, even though Liza is kind of like me, my house is pretty much the opposite of hers. Dx  
Oh, and by the way. When I said I left my family, I meant my host family... I love these people... forever. And something went wrong with the plane because I wanted to stay in America, but it took me 'home'... Sorry to those who are worried. You are cute. 3_

* * *

_I bet Leo gets tired of the way his brothers get onto him for being "perfect". You know, the way they do all the time, pretty much, because – let's face it – he is talented. Things work out for him, but is that such a crime, in the end? So whenever something else goes right for him, they get that little look in their eye. __It's that look that I bet he knows really well. You know, the one that says "there he goes again, just trying to be better than us." [...] Shouldn't they just shut up and be happy for him? Just once? Why do they have to ruin his moments? [...] They'll never know how much that hurts. __  
And he'll never tell. _

* * *

**Chapter 15**

"I'm _okay, _Leonardo. I _told _you. So quit making such a fuzz over this incident."

I am not really intending to hurt his feelings, as much as this sounds like I do. It's just that he keeps checking me over, asking me questions, shifting my pillows. It is embarrassing, because I am not six years old anymore, but most of because all I_ like_ it, and I hate myself for doing so.

"You should go and look after Donatello, not after me. I am nice and comfortable. _I _am okay, but _he _doesn't know that."

Donnie left right after he became aware of what he was doing. He apologized all the way to the door, stumbled, turned and fled. I almost felt sorry for him, but back than I had different problems, like _breathing._ Now I am fine(r), and I _feel _sorry for him. He probably believes he really hurt me. What a horrible situation. And Leo, Raph and Mikey still form a circle around _me. _Snap.

"Leonardo, _please."_

I don't call them by their nicknames today. Yesterday seems like a weird dream to me now, and I know they feel similar. It is _not right _that they are _still _here, and I don't even get how they came here in the first place. I don't know anything, and everything I _thought _I knew so far proved to be wrong_. _That is hard to accept for a crazy fan-girl like me, but I can do it. I just need some time... Alone.

The boys, on the other hands, clearly need everything _but _time alone. Mikey is nervously shifting in his stand, and his blue eyes flicker through the room every few seconds or so; Raphael clenchs and unclenchs his fist in an annoying manner, and every time he needs to push strands of his dark red hair out of his face, he stops and stares at his hands with an expression of plain disbelief. Leo, being the 'fearless leader and protector' he is, distracts himself by caring about, well, me.

"Donnie is fine, I assure you. What can happen to him as long as he stays in the house?" Leo asks now, but he finally turns away from the couch and towards the table. For a split second his eyes wander longingly towards the chairs, and I know then how tired he is, which is only natural since it is 6 a.m. He resists the urge, though, and when he turns around, his expression is calm and focused.

"I think I'll go downstairs to the training room and work out," he says and looks at me, "if you are fine with that, Liza." _Silly boy. He should rest, not train._ "Of course, make yourself at home", I answer. "Even though I suggest you all sleep some more. It's still dark outside." There is no need to add that during winter time, the sun won't show up before 9 am.

Leo ignores my second sentence and instead gives me a short, formal bow. "Thank you. I cannot affort to lose my shape in a situation as -_difficult, _as this." And he turns towards the door that leads into the hallway.

Raphael snorts.

"Do you want to accompany me, _Raphael?" _the blue-haired boy asks, pausing at the door, but he doesn't turn around.

"Naah," answers his brother. "One woulda thought ma shape's gonna be a'right wit'out me fa one day." Mikey snickers. "But ya can go ahead an' do ya t'ing, bro. Stay 'n shape."

I am confused by what is happening here. This sounds almost like an accusation. Longingly, I think of Tobias and Michael who are in the kitchen right now; maybe they could make sense of what is going on. They are boys, after all. As it is, the conversation goes on.

"I simply try to hold my level, Raphael", Leonardo says with the hint of a sigh in his voice. "Trying to be a good leader."

"Trying to be better than us", Mikey mutters under his breath, but I am not sure Leo hears it. I for myself can't quite believe I did. I mean, okay, they do that in the TV show from time to time, but surely it's just teasing. Right?

"Den do t'at, _fearless" _Raph snarls. "A'm gonna get s'me breakfast now. Mike, ya in?"

_Right?_

"Sure thing, bro", Mikey agrees and they step past Leo and into the hallway without looking back. Almost. When Raph is right next to Leo, he turns around and faces me one more time. "If that is fine with you, Liza", he says, and his tone is almost insulting.

He doesn't wait for an answer, but turns around and leaves with a spring in his step that I know only from Niklas.

_RIGHT?_

For a split second, I see hurt in Leo's face, but it is gone so fast that I am not sure it was really there. "I apologize for that", he says formally and leaves the room. The door closes behind him with a soft _thud. _And I am alone.  
Which, all of a sudden, lost its appeal.

Something else, on the other hand, sounds _very _appealing to me right now.

With a moan (I can't help it), I shove the blanket aside and slide off the couch. Bringing my feet under me is not easy with the blanket wrapped around them, but I manage it somehow. Standing up slowly, I make my way along the sofa and towards the wall. My ribs hurt, but not too bad to walk, and I make it to the door and through the hallway until I hear the noises of dishes rattling in the kitchen and of boys talking.

My footsteps must have been incredibly noisy, apparently, because Raph comes out of the kitchen and looks at me before I'm even at the door. "Liza", he says, surprised, and comes to stand next to me. "What's up? Ya hungry or..."

He doesn't get any further, because I slap him in the face.

I know it didn't really hurt him, but his surprise is enough to almost hit me back. He controlls himself deliberately, bringing a hand towards his cheek as a reflex. "What", he asks, his voice dangerously calm, "whas _dat _for?"

"What's going on?" Mikey asks, coming out of the kitchen behind Raph. "Everything all right, dudette-" he stops, because I hit him, too, and stumbles backwards against an empty wooden sockle. A tiny voice in the back of my head tells me there should be a statuette on this podest, but I shut it off. There are more important matters at hand.

"This", I say and look both of them into their faces, "was for _you _being the _stupid, careless IDIOTS _you are."

I turn around and try to leave, but of course they can't let me have my little show. Raph grabs my waist, but lets go when I hiss at him in a mix of rage and pain. Then Mikey blocks my path, confusion written on his face. "Dudette", he says quietly, "not cool. What's wrong?"

I don't answer. Instead I start crying.

# i # i # i #

Rushing down the hallway and to the left, Leonardo finds the staircase leading into the cellar right away. He looks down his now human body, which is dressed in a black pajama. _Black. Does her father only have black clothes? _Unconsciously he runs a hand over his face. _What a morning. I'd better let off some steam. _And he walks down the stairs.

The lights are out in the dark corridore, but Leonardo knows the way. Kind of. Feeling his way along the wall, he slowly proceeds. There is no light switch in sight -_my own fault, I should have remembered their positions- _but he is making progress, and the way is not too far. He passes the door into the room with the boiler that Donnie repaired the day before- _was it really just one day? - _and stops for a moment, remembering Liza's words. 'Go look after Donnie', she'd said. 'He didn't look good yesterday.'

_She is right, _Leo thinks with a sigh. _Training can wait. I am the big brother, after all._

Upstairs, someone is shouting. The sound reaches him through the dark silence of the cellar. With another deep sigh, whith which he breathes in some dust, Leonardo turns around and coughs. He takes a step back.. then another one.. and without a warning, his foot is caught in something soft and he stumbles backwards.

"What the-?" he barely stops himself from swearing as he hits the wall with his ellbow. Mentally cursing in japanese, he kneels down to examine what is lying here in the dark, because it hasn't been there yesterday, as far as he knows...

And it is _breathing..?_

"Oh shell", Leo whispers in the dark. "No, no, no."

Because what is lying there in front of him,  
breathing heavily, but otherwise  
perfectly still, is _Donnie. _And  
upstairs, the shouts  
continue...


	16. Silence And Desperation

_*faints* Mikell reviewed AGAIN! And... she treatens to kill me. Ah well. As an author, I have to deal with it.  
Leo: *coughs* Is that so.  
Me: Shoot. *runs away* AAAHH!_  
Here's chapter 16. I'm trying to update once a day now, I don't make promises, but I try. The story is faaaar beyond being finished!  
Here we go! (I have to tell you though that I only have one more week of holidays and I'm leaving for the Netherlands tomorrow... Ah. No dayly updates then...)

* * *

_Can we pretent that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars?  
I could really use a wish right now  
Okay, let's pretend like this never happened

* * *

_**Chapter 16**

It is not hard for Leonardo to lift his brother up. Compared to their 'normal' 200 pounds, it is scaringly easy. With no shell in the way, he could easily hold Donnie in a bridesmaid's carry, but since he has to hurry and he needs his hands, he simply swings the mechanic over his shoulder and starts to run.

The hallway is not long, but the darkness and the rising panic in his throat seem to stretch the time he needs to reach the staircase into infinity. Sweat starts trickling down Leo's forehead and neck, an unknown sensation since reptiles can't sweat, but he doesn't have the time or the patience to wipe it off. Instead he sprints up the staircase, taking three stairs in one step, and bursts through the door into a massacre.

His brain is running on overload, but Leo can't make the connections at first. What he sees is Mikey, staring in shock, with tears dwelling in his eyes; Tobias standing in front of Liza (who has fresh tear stains on her cheeks), as if he were shielding here, and Michael in front of the two in the same manner; and there is Raphael, swearing, and holding his left hand with a pained expression. Too much noise comes crashing down on the leader like a wave after the deafening silence of the basement. Swearing, cursing, shrieks and pleads mix into a crescendo. But Leo can still hear the breathless moan coming from his younger brother Donatello, and all of a sudden the fear becomes overwhelming, and he shouts-

**"SHUT UP! EVERYONE!"**

Six faces turn to face him. Liza blushes, but it is an angry blush, as if she isn't sure whether to hug him or continue shouting. Raphael and Michelangelo exchange quick glances of surprise and uncertainity. Only Tobias looks relieved at his appearance. Michael's expression is unreadable, but he steps aside to make room for the oldest. Leonardo takes a deep breath and swallows hard before he starts talking again.

"I don't know what happened, or what's gotten into you all", another deep breath, "and I _will _take care of this later on." His voice is calm, controlled, but this is maybe the worst. "But right now, I have more important problems, so _excuse me."_

And he walks past them all, into the living room, and carefully lies his younger brother down on the couch.

# i # i # i # i #

It scares me how easy it is to destroy something.

I break into tears, right in front of the two brothers that apparently still don't know what's going on. Or maybe Mikey does, because I can see a hint of guilt flicker in his eyes. On the other hand, I could be imagining things through the thick blurry layer of tears in my eyes. It is easy to see that Raph is angry, though, because his lips are pressed into a tight line and his amber eyes shoot daggers at me. Sheesh, this boy is not used to criticism, is he?

I continue to cry until Tobias dashes out of the kitchen and hugs me tight. I remember this scene- back when I first met him, and I was lost and didn't know how to get home, he had done the same to stop me from crying. Somehow it works this time, too. My tears stop slowly, even though I continue to sob quietly, and the redhead lets go of me.

And faces Raphael.

"What did you _do?" _he hisses angrily. His eyes behind his glasses look unnaturally big and flame with anger. "What is _wrong _with you?"

Mikey flinches as Raphael snarls and takes a step towards the boy. "I - have - no - _damn - idea!" _he responds, his voice rising with every word. Tobias instinctively backs away until his back hits the wall, but Raphael is not done yet. "She's dad crazy idea ta come ova here an' just slap us wit' no reason at all!" His angry eyes flicker to me for a second, and I with I could shrink and find a mousehole to hide.

"I am pretty sure she _did _have a reason", Tobias answers, obviously trying hard to keep his voice steady. Raph looms over him like Goliath over David. A giant and a kid. I shudder, but stand up anyway.

"He is right", I say. My voice is still hoarse from crying, but I gather all my strength to look into Raph's face. "You deserved that."

Raph's mouth thins into a hard line. "Why?" he asks, but this single word continues so much fury that for a second I am taken aback. "Because you keep insulting people, hurting people, including your own brother, and this is not right."

Raphael snorts again, but Mikey shifts uneasily, and I know that my words reached at least him. I am not done with him, though. "Because you can't accept when someone gives his best and actually makes it in the end", I say, and this time _my _voice raises, "and because you can't say 'thank you' _one SINGLE TIME."_

I stop. My breathing is heavy, and I'm panting, but it feels good to say all that aloud. Into their faces. Because Leo never would. But even though Mikey looks uneasy to the ground, Raph seems unimpressed. "An' dis is why ya hit me?" he asks in disbelief.

"Seems like you earned it to me", Tobias pipes up.

That is too much for the hot-head. Growling, he faces Tobias, and all of a sudden the smaller boy is in real danger. With his back to the wall, he has no way to escape, and Raphael seems furious. I shriek, and Mikey dashes forward to stop his brother just when Raph's hand comes up and-

Then Michael is in the way. In one split second, he appears and catches the blow. Other than his slightly bend knees, there is no sign he was hurt at all. Tobias starts shouting, and Mikey joins him, but Raphael is too mad to care right now. He raises his hand again.

But this time Michael grabs his hand, and in one fluid motion, he turns Raphael's wrist anti-clockwise. There is a sharp _snap, _Raphael screams in rage, and then he backs away from the two boys, holding his hand and cursing at them. Mikey stares in sheer shock and confusion, and I am sure something terrible will happen.

I am right, but in another way than I thought. The door to the basement is pushed open, and Leo stands in the opening. _Leo. _I don't think I've ever been this glad to see him. He, on the other hand, doesn't look happy at all.

No one else notices him, they just continue shouting. There is something different about Leo, but the shadows hide him, and I can't make it out...

Then the Leader raises his voice in one single, furious shout.

**"SHUT UP! EVERYONE!"**

And then I know something else is terribly wrong. _  
Donnie..?_

# i # i # i # i #

Donatello's face is pale in the light of the early morning sun breaking through the windows. Paler than usual, that is. There is sweat on his forehead, and his mouth hands slightly open, in- and exhaling short breaths in sharp little gasps. Mikey and Raph went off to grab some towels and hot water, but they need a long time to come back, and I mentally curse myself- not for the first time- for not going with them. How are they supposed to find anything in this house, yet alone towels and a bathroom?

The fight is long forgotten, at least for now. Leo kneels next to the couch in a crouch, checking Don's vitals over and over, comparing his pulse to his own, searching for obvious injuries. There are none, except for a small bump at the back of his head where he must've hit himself when he fell over. Still, his skin has taken a grey-ish color, and he is unconscious.

Finally, Mikey and Raph dash into the room, carrying the needed supplies. I make a dash for the kitchen and climb up a chair to reach the cupboard with the medical aid supplies. Running hurts in my ribs, but I don't pay attention to it. _I have to help_.

Just when I enter the room again, Donnie coughs violently and starts shaking. _Shivering fit. Oh no. _Leonardo is on his feet in an instant, gathering all the blankets that are still in the room from the mattresses and tucking Don in tight. Still, we are at a loss. It becomes more and more clear to me that all of them have medical knowledge, but it is limited, compared to Donatello's.

"We could call the doctor", Tobias suggests quietly. His voice is strained and uncertain, and his eyes are fixed on the shivering boy on the couch as if he doesn't even realize he just spoke aloud.

"Don't be silly", Raph snaps, "we can't have any human see-" he breaks off and exchanges glances with Mikey and Leo. Suddenly the room is very quiet.

"I'll go get the phone", I whisper,  
put the first aid kit on  
the table and  
run.


	17. Getting Better

_Huh, sorry, folks... Here I am again.. *coughs* please don't kill me!  
I had a great trip to the Netherlands. It was me and four friends, in a Caravan, for three days... no, nothing burned. Nothing important, anyways.. Okay, nothing TOO important... *coughs again*  
It was a hard way back, because we needed 6 hours instead of the normal 2... we didn't find the right Highway right away... *coughs* (- seems I catched a cold..) But here we go! Hope you had a great day!  
This chap goes to Pachey, my little sister, who turned 16 on Wednesday. You Rock!  
Uh, and I realized that somewhere I counted wrong with the chaps... please ignore the fact that this should be chapter 16.. Thanks xD

* * *

_

_Money Money Money  
Always sunny in a rich man's world  
All the things I could do  
If I had a little money  
It's a rich man's world  
[ABBA - Money Money Money]

* * *

_**Chapter 17**

Even in the half hour Dr. Kersch needs to arrive, Donnie's condition gets worse.

Mikey and Raph finally brought the water, and soon enough Don's legs and forehead are covered with damp, cool towels. Still his fever highens and his body burns up. He remains unconscious the whole time, and even his moans stop eventually, but somehow this is even worse than him making any noise at all. I look into Leo's face and see the worry _chiseled _into every part of his face. I can see the effort it costs Raph not to run towards the couch and _shake _his little brother awake in every movement he makes. Mikey is unusually quiet; he runs from the kitchen sink to the living room and back with a filled bucket without so much as a word. Tobias and Michael react similar- they mostly just sit at the big wooden table and watch what's hapening with a helpless expression. They are at a loss of what to so, and so am I.

Finally, after what seems to be weeks, a car pulls up into the driveway. I pull the door open before Dr. Kersch can even ring the bell, and Raph is right behind me, quivering with supressed tension. I eye him with worry, but don't have time to react. While I lead the doctor towards the living room, he asks me questions about Don's condition. I try to answer the best I can, with Raph's help, but I don't really know what to say. _One second he was totally fine, and the next he fainted... _He doesn't even ask once where the boys came from in the first place, and I could hug him for that. I wouldn't know what to say.

But when Kersch walks up to the sofa and Leo and Mikey part before him, he needs only one split second for a first diagnosis, and it is not one I like.

"The flu", he simply says and pulls a surgical mask out of his black leather bag. Then he takes out one of these wooden sticks they use to push down a patient's tongue and starts the examination.

"That's impossible", Leo protests. Dr. Kersch doesn't even turn from feeling Donnie's lymph nodes and pulse as he asks, "why would that be?"

"We never get sick", Mikey pipes up as the doctor lifts the damp towel on Don's forehead to check the temperature. "Our mut- _immune system", _he barely stops himself from saying _mutagen, _"is really.. strong. Don's never been sick before. Not really." I hear the honesty in his voice and barely supress a shudder as I think about what is about to come. _Second mutation. _I shake my head, as if that could help me to get rid of the thought, just as the medic stands up and takes some notes in a small black journal. Tobias and Michael remain silent, but I can see Tobias' face and know that he thought of the same thing as me.

"As interesting as that is", Dr. Kersch answers absent mindedly and pulls up Donatello's shirt, "it is more than clear that your-" he looks into Mikey's face for a second, "brother catched the flu. Pretty bad, I would say." He pulls out a sthetoscope and starts to listen to his patient's heart sound and breathing. Shaking his head, he uses desinfection on the metal and tucks it back into his bag. Then he opens a smaller sidebag and pulls out... a syringe, filled with a white-yellow-ish liquid.

In an instant, Raph and Leo are in front of the sofa, shifted into a fighting stance. A low growl escapes Raph's throat, and Leo's eyes have taken an even darker shade of black as he shows his teeth in the unconscious appearance of a snarl. Mikey flinches back, he can't really help it, and in a flash of fury I think _Bishop, _but then my mind focusses on the task at hand.

Dr. Kersch raises his left eyebrow. (I always wanted to do that!) "My, my", he simply states, "one could think you have bad experiences with needles." He sighs and raises the syringe. Raph hisses. "This, on the other hand, is a strong antibioticum. Penicilline. Do you", he asks Leo, since he seems to be the more reasonable of the two, "have an allergy against penicilline?"

Leo frowns. "I don't know", he slowly says and relaxes ever so slightly, but his eyes never leave the needle. "We never tried."

Dr. Kersch raises his other eyebrow. (Dang it!) "Is that so. Interesting", he mutters, more to himself. I can see Leo's face twitch as he wonders whether he said too much. Then the medic lets a sigh escape. "Then I'd better not take the risk", he adds and starts to put the syringe away.

"Oh, come on", Tobias pipes up. "You can't possibly have _that _much bad luck." He looks at Leo, too. He really seems to be responsible for everything. Right now, his face says something close to _Oh boy, if you knew, if only you knew._

Without a warning, Donnie lets out a loud gasp, and then violent coughs shake him and make his whole body tremble. Everyone turns to face the sofa, and an expression of utter helplessness flickers over the boys' faces.

"On the other hand", Dr. Kersch suggests and takes a step forward, "not too many people have an allergie on penicilline, and right now seems to be a good moment to try it. I'll give you something against the shock, just in case, but.." he steps next to the sofa and pushes his glasses up his nose. In the light of the winter sun that breaks through the windows, Don looks unnaturally pale, and sweat drops stand on his arms and bare chest.

Leo's eyes flicker to me for just an instant before he makes room with an expression as if someone had just shot _him._

Dr. Kersch kneels down and reaches for Don's arm, searches for a vein, and sticks the needle in.

I can feel Mikey flinch behind me, and Raph can barely contain his urge to simply jump the medic and rip his head off, or worse, from what his amber eyes tell me. But they hold still, and the doctor finishes his work. Soon Donnie's breathing slows down. His fever stays up, though.

"He is going to sleep some time now", the doc tells us. "The penicilline I gave him should be enough to start with, but he'll need more later on. I'll give you the recipie for some pills he has to take with water", and he pulls out his journal, "one a day, at the same time, as soon as he wakes up." He scribbles something on a green sheet of paper and hands it to me. "I take that right that you take all the costs?" I simply nod. Somehow the paper in my hand slows my breathing down. _You have medicine. It's all gonna be okay._

_"_To be safe, I would like to give each of you a shot of penicilline", the doc says and turns to face each of them. "If that is okay with you, since you have to pay for it", he then tells me. I nod again, but my eyes are still on the green sheet. _We'll need to go to the pharmacy..._

"I don't think this is a good idea, Leo!" Mikey pipes up. He sounds nervous, and I know why, but we all know it's best to say yes. The risk that we are already infected is too great. Leo walks over, reluctantly leaving Don's side, to stand next to his youngest brother when they get a shot; then it's my turn, and I look out the window as the needle stings into my arm. Tobias comes over, too, and then Raph. Only Michael stays where he is.

"I have an allergy", he states when it is his turn. "But don't worry, I'm gonna be fine. _My _immune system is formidable." His tone is mocking, and for some reason Tobias shoots him a warning look that I don't quite understand, but it shuts him up. Dr. Kersch shruggs and finishes his work. He gives Leo some instructions- drink enough, make sure Donatello drinks enough, call him whenever something changes, he'll be back tomorrow, bla, bla. Then he leaves.

"Impressive", Tobias says to me after we close the door. "That he gave you all that stuff without asking." He doesn't quite meet my eyes. "Having money must be cool."

"Cool beans", Mikey agrees and rubs his arm absent mindedly. "Pretty legit, if you ask me. Don'd give his arm and leg to get hold of some of that stuff." His grin fades and he hurries down the hallway into the living room without looking back.

_"Money, money, money",_ I whisper to myself and choose to take it with humour. "Ha ha."  
And I put on my best smile as we enter the big room,  
look everyone in the face and ask with a  
giggle in my voice, "So, who wants  
to go to the pharmacy  
with me?"

* * *

_Never forget how much a simple word, thoughtlessly spoken, can hurt._


	18. Problems, Problems, Problems

_Dayly update, going well so far. I'll try to keep it up!  
Love you, folks. Stick with me!  
I love Arina Tanemura's manga... Okay, that was random._

* * *

_Yes I'd rather hurt than feel nothing at all  
It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone  
And I need you now  
[Lady Antebellum - Need you now]_

_

* * *

_**Chapter 18**

In the end we decide that other than me, Tobias and Michael will accompany me. None of the boys is willing to leave Don's side, even though he is rather asleep than unconscious now. I can understand that. I really do. But I would still like to make up with Mikey and Raph- or rather, have Michael make up with them. Still, it's only the three of us when we leave the house.

I take a step outside and take a deep breath. Cool air fills my lungs. The winter sun shines through a lightly overcast morning sky that is still dark at the edges, and the fresh white sheet on the street glitters, and all of a sudden I know that it could very well be that we come back and they are all gone. Because they, in the end, were only a product of my imagination; but more possible is that they will just decide that it's not safe here and ... disappear.

I pause on the doorstep, suddenly uncertain... And turn around to run back inside. I leave a startled Michael and a smiling Tobias behind. It takes me only seconds to burst into the living room, where everyone crouches into a fighting stance, and another second to hurry past Mikey and Raph and embrace Leo in a close hug. When I pull away, my cheeks are burning, and so are his. "Don't leave", I say and run back outside again.

For once, even Mikey's wisecracks stop.

Walking through the fluffy snow is nice, but I am far from used to long walks. I am the rich, lazy girl, in case you've forgotten. Tobias and Michael stay close together to my left, not quite holding hands, but almost so. Watching them, I can't help but think how cruel it is that so many people have stereotypes against being gay that it forbids them to show their affection out in the open. _Maybe later on, they will. But they are still so young, so uncertain. _I can't quite stiffle my chuckle at that thought, because it makes me sound like an old woman, and Tobias shoots me an irritated look. But he doesn't comment.

It takes us about half an hour to reach the end of the street and the short alleyway where the pharmacy is. Even through my shoes, my feet are cold, but it's nice to have company. We talk about some things on the way, nothing too serious, and the mood is light.

I should have known my luck wouldn't last that long.

Inside the small building, the air is warmer, but only slightly. No one is there this early in the morning, and the woman in her white coat takes lazy sips of a big green coffee mug. The scent is filling the air, and I wrinkle my nose at it. I don't like the smell of coffee very much. Still, I walk over to her and show her the recipe. It takes the young woman only moments to give me the right product, and I pay with my dad's credit card, the way I always do. On the way out I put the precious box with pills securely into my small purse and hold it tight. I won't take a risk.

I know that I have to think of something else when behind us, several pairs of shoes crunch through the snow in our direction. And I don't have to turn to know who it is.

"Run", Michael whispers, and we start dashing.

# i # i # i # i #

The living room is quiet except for the continuous ticking of a big, red-framed clock on the wall above the TV. Donatello's breathing is slow and calm, but he didn't wake up yet, and the worry draws deep lines into Leonardo's brow as he watches the sofa through narrowed eyes. Mikey went to the kitchen to 'fetch up some food' just seconds ago, but his absence already makes Leo restless.

"Relax, man", Raph growls from his position in one of the big armchairs. His amber eyes glare at the Leader in a way that shows his own restlessness, and his tense shoulders give him away even though his outer appearance seems calm and collected. Still, Leo draws in a deep breath and deliberately slows his breathing down.

Donnie's hand twitches for a second. Leo looks up, startled, just in time to see his brother's eyelids flutter and finally open. With a groan- the first sound in hours - the purple-haired brother tries to sit up. "Where..?" But Leo's hands on his shoulders press him firmly back into the sheets.

"Relax, bro", Raph says. He stands up and comes over to the couch. "Ya at Liza's, remembah? Da girl wit' da huge house?"

Don's frown increases as he tries to remember. He is blinking heavily now; sleep threatens to overwhelm him once again. "Liza", he repeats, and his voice is hoarse. Without thinking, Leo hands him a glass of water, and Don gulps it down in a matter of seconds. "Thanks", he whispers. Still, his eyes slide closed. "I was just... just..." His skin pales, and his eyes fly open. "Oh snap.. I'm gonna get sick..."

Leo has only just time to fetch the nearby bucket they used to wetten the towels before his brother throws up violently. Coughing fits shake his body as Raph steps next to him and holds Don's hair out of his face despite his nose wrinkeled in disgust. "Shell, Don", he sighs.

"Great", Mikey mutters. He just stepped through the door when Don threw up. "Nice to see you, too." He sets the small plate with french toast on the table next to him. "I'd better get something stomach-settling", he says more to himself and hastily leaves the room again.

"So- sorry", Donnie coughs once he is done. Leo shakes his head. "That was my fault. I am sorry. I'll just .. empty this.." he holds the bucket on arm-length as he stands up and asks his brother, "Can you open up those windows while I'm gone?"

Raph is about to give him some sarcastic remark, anything, for taking the blame, for playing strong again. The way he uses to. But almost involuntarily, his hand comes up to his cheek. He can't help but remember Liza's furious look, her violent crying. "Sure t'ing, bro", he says absent mindedly and walks over to the windows to do as he was asked.

Leo doesn't show his surprise. He just raises one eye ridge as he leaves the room to go to the bathroom, intending to empty and clean the bucket and fetch a glass of clean non-fizzling water for Don to rinse. Mikey walks out of the kitchen just as he passes by. The youngest brother carries a small plate with brown bread. A closer examination reveals butter and salt on it. "I wonder if this girl has any coke somewhere", he just mutters to himself as Leo comes by. "Nothing better to settle a boy's stomach." His head snaps up as he sees his oldest brother, and something flickers in his eyes that the leader can't quite place.

"Just going to clean that", Leonardo announces and holds up the bucket. Somehow, he lately felt the desire to apolpgize for his actions constantly. Mikey wrinkles his nose. "Didn't want to see that", he mutters but grins. Leo smiles back as he proceeds.

"Hey, Leo", Mikey calls after him. It sounds uncertain, as if he were surprised about himself. Startled, Leo turns around and faces him. "Yeah?"

"Nothin'." The courage left Mike as soon as it came. "Just.. you know we all love you, right?"

The question confuses Leo, and he tilts his head to the side. "Of course. We're brothers."

Mikey sighs relieved. "Good. Just.. cool." Without another word, he makes his way to the living room, and even though Leo is startled, he can't help but smile as he finally cleans what's left of Donnie's dinner. _Of course._

He just goes back to the main area, where Don eyes the brown bread with salt suspiciously, when loud noises come from the front door. The doorbell rings frantically, once, twice, then there is silence.

Raph raises one eye ridge at Leo. _Think we should open da door?_

_Can't hurt, _Leo mouthes and shruggs. Together they walk down the corridore again. _This house really is huge, _Leo can't help but think.

They open the door, and Tobias literally _falls _in. His glasses are  
missing, and there are fresh tear stains on his cheeks.  
A new bruise is forming on his jaw, but when he  
grabs Raph's shirt, his voice is determined.  
_They got them. Please. Help.  
_Then he faints.


	19. In The Meanwhile

_Hey, my dear readers. Where are you? Daily updates are not half the fun when no one is there to comment on them... *sighs*  
Because I am a really mean person underneath my cure appearance *coughs* I'll leave this weird dimension I call my own for now and turn my attention towards another. One question crosses my mind...  
What's Splinter doing while his boys are not home?

* * *

_

_I dreamed I was missing_  
_You were so scared_  
_But no one would listen_  
_'Cause no one else cared_  
_[Linkin Park - Leave out all the rest]

* * *

_

**Chapter 19**

**Earth, America, In some random Universe, 15:28, one day ago  
**

Hamato Splinter entered the Lair with a bad feeling in his guts.

He could tell something was wrong right away. It was too quiet to be good in the huge domed room. Even though nothing seemed out of place, the old rat slowly lowered the grocery bag he had with him and placed it on a table next to the entrance. Then he raised his walking stick and cautiously started to check the rooms. Without the wooden clack that usually accompanied his every move, he walked in absolute silence. It was not as if he needed the stick to walk; he just liked the fatherly touch it added to his appearance and the comfortable feeling to have the weight in his hands.

Nothing. A quick check revealed nothing extraordinary. The dirty dishes from his sons' late breakfast were still in the sink, and the smell of cinnamon rolls hung in the air. Other than this, the rat couldn't smell anything that didn't belong here. In fact, everything seemed perfectly fine.

Splinter's frown deepened. He grabbed the grocery bag and started to put goods into the fridge, but his thoughts were elsewhere. His feelings hardly ever proved wrong, but this time, he couldn't tell what they meant.

_Where are my sons? _the sensei thought and left the room again. It was daytime outside, so they should have been at home. Now that he thought about it, they hadn't asked for permission to leave the Lair. Still, the TV was silent, and neither from the lab nor from the dojo came any sound. Even Kunk seemed to be gone.

_Maybe they went to see Mrs. O'Neil, _the rat mused. _I wonder if there was an emergency. They didn't leave a message, did they?_

Still in thoughts, he searched the tables and the pin board for a sheet of paper or another message of any kind, but couldn't find any. His eyes narrowed as he walked over to the main area to sit in his favorite armchair and meditate over this problem for a while. Maybe he could also turn on the TV and look for some sitcom. Just while he was at it.

The strange .. machine his son Donatello was working on at the moment had grown in his absence. It was an ugly thing, made from rusty iron and plastic. Still, pride dwelled in Splinter's chest when he looked at it. It was amazing what his young student could do without being taught any of it. The rat's smile faded quickly. _If only we had the possibilities..._

His dark thoughts were distracted when he realized that, from his spot on the armchair, the machine blocked his view on the television. With an annoyed sigh and a new frown, Splinter stood up to move the strange device. There had to be a way, right? But standing in front of the heavy metal plates, the machine was almost three times his own height. With yet another sigh, Splinter laid his hands against the smooth surface of a former car door.

It was warm under his skin.

Startled, the ninja master backed away, but curiosity won over instinct. More cautiously this time, he approached again and moved his fingers over the old red paint. There definitely was warmth under his fingers, and something else, a tickling sensation that indicated the device was _humming _ever so slightly. Now that he knew what to look for, Splinter could hear it too. It was definitely humming. But as he listened and felt, the sound subsided and the warmth faded.

_It was used recently, _Splinter thought. Worry started to gnaw at his stomach as he saw a huge chunk of metal some inches from the sofa and he noticed the light impact sign it had left on the concrete floor. There was no sign of blood or an injury of any kind. Still, the rat didn't like what he saw.

_I think it is time to call Ms. O'Neil, _he thought and got out his shell-cel. With some minor difficulties, he forced the device open and started to press the numerous button to find the phone book. But finally he gave up with a sigh. _Donatello will have to explain this to me again, _he thought and started towards the entrance that lead into the sewers. _Better I go and tell her myself._

The doors slid open with a light w_hoosh _as Splinter stepped through them. They closed behind him with the same sound. Where a door had been only seconds ago, everyone else would now only notice an ordinary, grey brick wall. There was even moss growing on it. Splinter didn't look back, though. By the time the door was closed, he was already down the tunnel and gone.

It took him only minutes to find the way to April O'Neil's apartment. He knew there was a manhole in the alley right next to her antique shop, but he also knew that it was mid-day and the area would be crowded. After a moment's hesitation, the ninja master went down the next tunnel and found the rusty pipe he was looking for. It was tight, too tight for his sons; but Splinter would fit through. It lead to the heating room in the building next to April's.

Even while he scrambled trough a narrow iron pipe, and his paws were- let's face it- clawed, Splinter hardly made any sound as he ascended. Soon his head shot out of the upper part of the pipe, peeking into the small area with the low ceiling that held the heating room. No one was there, and a thin layer of dust told the old rat that no one had been in here for at least a few days. It was safe.

From this point, the ninja master only needed minutes to find the nearest staircase and reach the roof. No one ever used staircases nowadays, not since they invendet elevators; a fact that Splinter had never fully understood but was only good for him and his sons. He made the leap over the narrow alleyway between the two buildings easily and landed lightly on the roof of April O'Neils apartment building. The fireladder stopped right in front of her window, and after only a moment's hesitation, he let himself in.

The room was tidy and empty. The lights were off, but enough sunlight came in through the windows, and Splinter was more than able to see in the dark anyways. Additionally, he knew the room. Still cautiously he made his way to the door and listened.

He could hear April downstairs in her shop. This was one thing he hadn't thought of. Maybe he should have called, after all... his gaze fell upon an old telephone that belonged to April. His mouth twitched into a thin smile for a second. Maybe he didn't understand the new device his son had given him, but he _did _know how to use a _normal _phone. Or an antique one, which, for Splinter, was the same.

A quick look around revealed a bunch of flyers for April's store. Splinter picked one of the flyers up and carefully dialed the given number. It took April only moments to pick up the phone downstairs. "Hello?"

"Mrs O'Neil", Splinter said calmly, "it is me, Splinter. I am in the need of your assistance."

"One moment, please", April said. The sounds in the background muffled- she cupped the phone with her hand- but the rat could still make out her voice. "Stay away from that!" she shouted. Actually, he could hear her quite clearly through the floor. "Put that down.. thank you. No, sir, I am sorry. We are closing now." It took her a few moments to get her customers out, but Splinter was patient. He waited, inwardly excusing for causing trouble. "Here I am, Splinter", April said.

"I am sorry to cause trouble, Mrs O'Neil", he answered and cut off her protest, "but I am upstairs in your room. I have an important question to you. Please meet me upstairs." Which is what they did.

"So you're saying that everyone's gone and a strange humming device is in your main area?" April's summary was short and precise. With a sigh she started to pack some of her equipment in a yellow bag. "I'll take a look", she said. _And dare the boys come back and it's nothing important._


	20. Basement

_I never would have thought that one day I'd only have one reviewer, and that is _Mikell. _Wow.  
Yesterday I got a request for a story. It sounds really cool. I'm definitely gonna do it, but I have to finish my running stories first. Check my profile for the latest news.

* * *

Things aren´t the way they were before _  
_You wouldn´t even recognize me anymore _  
_Not that you knew me back then  
[Linkin Park - In The End]

* * *

_**Chapter 20**

_Michael._

A voice calls for him out of the blackness. Michael wants to swatt it away. It annoys him. But he finds that it is hard to move his hands, to even _blink, _so he tries to ignore the sound instead.

_Michael. Can you hear me?_

The voice sounds whiny. He starts to let out a sigh but finds that he can't. Breathing is difficult. He knows this should concern him, but actually, he is quite comfortable right now. If only the voice would stop.. It gives him a headache.

_Please. Oh, please, Michael. Wake up._

He hates it when someone cries. Somehow, he hates it right now in particular. There is something about the voice that he knows... A picture flashes in his mind, just for a second, and he cringes away when his headache increases. A girl..? How does he come to know that girl?

_Don't leave me alone..._

It has something to do with Tobias, that much he knows. _Tobias._ That name makes him frown. He knows that name. It is important to him. If only he could remember... But his head hurts so much, he can barely hear his own thoughts. There is pain everywhere, but dull, as if from a distance. It is comfortable here in the darkness, so easy to forget, but the thought keeps nagging at him.

_Please, don't be dead._

Without a warning, a memory floods his mind. _The memory of a voice... similar to this one, but younger, and even more desperate. Red hair glints in the first beams of the early sun.. matching the crimson spread on the snow. A body... 'please, don't be dead..' A cry.  
_

His eyes snap open with a violent flinch. Desperately, he tries to breathe, but suddenly there doesn't seem to be any air. Flinching, he tries to stretch, to get his arms over his head and free his chest, but something holds him back... And everything starts to blurr again...

From the corner of his eye, he sees something move. It is still dark around him, but a thin beam of sunlight catches a glimpse of what seems to be reddish-blonde curls. Instantly, he remembers the last day, if at least pieces of it. With the memory comes an explosion of pain that seems to split his skull in halves.. And still, he is gasping for air. His vision is closing in.

Then soft lips are pressed on his and fresh air fills his lungs, unfolding them and freeing him from the crushing weight on his chest...

He sucks in breaths violently for a while, but at least he can see again, think again. Over the sound of his blood rushing in his ears, he can hear the girl's voice again, talking to him, and soothing him. The fog in his mind clears.

"Liza", he whispers. It frightens him how hoarse his own voice is. And speaking hurts. It hurts all over him. "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" He can't see her face in the darkness that surrounds them both, but he can hear her concern clearly enough. And beyond that, she sounds terrified. "We went to get that medicine, the pills. From the pharmacy.." her voice breaks, and she stiffles a sob. "They came rushing at us. You told us to run, but I couldn't.. my ribs hurt..." she sobs again, more violently this time, but when she speaks again, her voice is so small that he has problems to understand her. "It's all my fault." And she starts crying.

The pieces start to fall into place then.

_The three of them left the pharmacy and quickly went towards May's mansion to deliver the medicine for Donatello. Suddenly, there was a noise, like footsteps in the snow behind them. Heavy shoes crushed the ice, and they didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Niklas._

_The boy remembers Liza's eyes widening in fear, and Tobias making a half-turn as if he wanted to stop whatever was coming. His only thought had been to get the two of them out of harms way. "Run!" someone shouted, maybe it was him, and they increased their speed. But something was wrong-_

_Liza's face twisted in pain as she tried to run. Her hands flew to her chest, where the bruised ribs where, and then Michael knew they were in trouble. Niklas' gang members kept coming, but they still had a chance, the way was not that far... He turned and grabbed Liza's arm, carried her along with Tobias in the front. They almost made it._

_Then Niklas himself stepped out of an alleyway and into their path, accompanied by two of his 'bodyguards'. And Michael then knew they were lost._

_"Look who we have here", their enemy smirked. "The swish and the little princess.." his face twisted in hatred when he saw Michael, "and you."_

_Everything else was pain..._

"Where is Tobias?"

The thought fills the boy with sudden desperation. Against his will, he feels his hands trembling. Something thin cuts into his wrists, and a part of his mind notes _restraints, _but he doesn't care. "What happened?" Even Liza's crying stops when she hears him. He can almost hear her mother instinct kick in, and he would have laughed in every situation, every moment, but this.

"He got away..." she sniffs one last time and then robbs forward to sooth him. "You got him out, somehow, but then there were reinforcements. Michael, that was amazing. I am sure he is all right and-"

Whatever she wants to tell him, she is cut off by the creaking sound of an old door opening. The small room fills with the flickering light of a staircase light, and all of a sudden Michael wishes the blackness to come back.

Niklas' mouth twists into a cruel smile that doesn't reach his eyes.

"See who's awake", he says.

The door closes with a snap.

* * *

_Yeah, short chap here. This one has something to do with Tobias' and Michael's past... Oh boy, what have they gotten themselves into now?_


	21. Dark Secrets Revealed

_Here we go. It's almost midnight.. I'm tired.. :) Had a good work-out.

* * *

And I can't breathe without you  
But I have to breathe without you  
But I have to...  
Never wanted this, never want to see you hurt  
[Taylor Swift - Breathe]

* * *

_**Chapter 21**

Tobias always thought he would feel it if anything happened to his loved ones.

He always believed it would be like the all-famous twin magic, like a feeling in his guts; that he would feel the pain and know the danger, maybe even _see _what was wrong. It was a childish believe, and he was aware of that, but up to this point he hadn't given it much thought anyway.

Right now, he himself is definitely in enough pain for two. But if there is one thing he can't afford to do, it is lie down.

"Please, tell me exactly what happened."

Against every protest from either one of the boys, Donatello made room on the sofa immediately after Raph carried Tobias in. It doesn't make much of a difference, though, because the room is still covered in mattresses and blankets. So now everyone stands gathered around the furniture and asks the redhead questions while Leo treatens his bleeding head wound. Let me tell you, it's not too easy to talk (or concentrate, for that matter) while someone else presses a cotton pad against your forehead. And you're hardly conscious.. and your common sense just dove headfirst over a cliff.

Still, Tobias tries. He really does.

"We.. went back from the pharmacy.." He hisses as Mikey applies desinfectant to a minor cut in his arm, but continues. "There were footsteps. And then, all of a sudden, they.." he shudders and closes his eyes for a moment. Raph has a hard time not to show his impatience; his knuckles turn white from the supressed tension. When Tobias goes on, his voice is a whisper. "We fought.. and there was so much noise and cries and blood.." His voice becomes more and more of a whisper. "So much blood. And then..." Another shudder makes his body tremble.

"Then?" Raph asks. He tries to keep his tone even, but he loses the fight. He sounds strained. "What then?"

"They wanted to kill me!" Tobias shouts in a sudden outburst. His eyes fly open, but they seem to see something the others don't. "They had a baseball bat and.. they wanted to kill me. Just like they did to.." His voice breaks, and he bursts into tears. Between his hiccups, he repeats "Michael got me away, but they took him. They took him. Michael.." Over and over. It is nervewracking.

Raphael stalks away from the couch and slumps down on one of the mattresses. "We're gonna find them", he growls, so low that the others almost don't hear him. "Oh yeah, we'e gonna find 'm, and dis Niklas guy'll wish ta nevah be born!" His volume increased more and more until the last word comes out as a shout. Normally, this is the point where either Leo, Don or Mikey step over to him and remind him to "take it easy, bro."

Not this time.

"He's dead meat, dude", Mikey agrees. Leo remains silent, but Tobias can see the determined expression on his face as he puts a bandage around the redhead's forehead. The medical aid kit Liza brought in earlier is almost empty now. _Liza. _Tobias has to stop himself from thinking about her situation, because he just stopped crying and doesn't want to start all over again. "Sorry", he mutters from between his hiccups. His head feels dizzy, and all of a sudden he is very tired.

"We are going to have our base here", Leonardo says and closes the zipper of the aid kit. "In this room. It'll be our last hold in case everything goes wrong." His voice indicates that he believes this could very well happen. "We need all the medical supplies we can find, and Mike, go get some food." He waves Raph and Mikey off into the kitchen, and Tobias has the sneaking suspicion that there is a plan behind this. The kitchen is near enough to just go there every time they need something.

He is right. As soon as the two are out of the way, Leo comes over to the couch again.

"Tell me", he whispers low enough so that Don won't hear it. "What exactly does Niklas want from you guys?"

Tobias doesn't know where this leads them. He does see, though, that by sending everyone away Leo wanted to protect his privacy, which is kind of pointless since he'll probably tell his brothers anyway, but still. The boy appreciates the effort.

"I can't tell you", he whispers. The room starts spinning.

"Then let me guess." Leo's voice is still low, but determined. "Someone died. And it was Niklas' fault."

"Whe- I mean- " Tobias stutters. The blood starts rushing through his ears, deafening every other sound. He can't think. But he mustn't.. he can't... "I didn't..." His hands fly to his head, fluttering, and press against his ears. The bandage around his forehead turns red from the pressure on the wound. Leo tries to pull Tobias' hands away, but the other boy squeaks and jumps back. It is a weak sound. Leonardo hates himself for continuing this, but he needs as many information as he can gather, and he needs it now.

"Niklas killed someone", he repeats. "But something happened... something they didn't foresee. Something about you. And now, they try to silence you." He can't quite believe himself what he's saying. From the one time he saw Niklas before, and from the fight on the streets, he knew that this gang was violent and potentially dangerous, but he never would have thought that he would land in a life-or-death-story. Never. _Always expect the unexpected, _he thinks bitterly. "I am sorry, but I need you to tell me what you know, so that I can decide how to react", he continues, and his voice is pleading.

Tobias takes a deep, shuddering breath. His hands sink down onto the sofa in a gesture of total and utter defeat. When he speaks again, his voice is swaying and hoarse, but Leo is ready to listen.

"It was a few.. years ago", he starts and Leo's eyebrows rise. _This is a long time to hold a grudge. _"Maybe two and a half. I was out in town.. with my brother, Noah." His voice quivers. Leo hears Mikey and Raph enter the room silently and he knows everyone is listening now. But Tobias doesn't seem to be aware of his surroundings anymore; his eyes stare onto his hands, but they clearly see something else.

"We'd been on a flea market before. To get some money. So we went into town to buy this new console.. an X-Box, I think. I don't remember." His voice is lifeless now, flat and toneless. "We got one. Noah was so happy. He would dance and laugh all the time, because he really wanted to play this game.. something about a purple dragon." His lips twist into an absent smile. "Spyro. That was the name of the game."

Leo is really thankful that Mikey, for once in his life, doesn't comment on that. He himself doesn't dare move so much as a muscle.

"So we went down the street... it was mid-summer, and it was hot, but we'd heard that there was fake snow in the villa area of the city. I told him to go home first.. I _told _him." Tobias' smile is replaced by pure bitterness. The lines in his face seem to harden. "But he wouldn't listen.. he was just a kid. He was twelve."

Leo's hands start to quiver with supressed tension as he started to guess where the story would lead them.

"He wanted to play in the snow. 'Come on', he said. 'Snow in July. That'll be fun!' And so we went there. I could never say no to the kid." His body starts to tremble, but now he doesn't stop anymore. "When we got there, Niklas and his gang were already there. They made the younger kids pay money to play in the snow heap. There really was snow, just at the side of the street, next to the playground." The sad smile moves the corners of his mouth down instead of up.

"Noah saw them, too. He was a smart kid. He told me that we could come back another time, and we turned to leave. But they blocked our way." His hands ball into fists. "They wanted the X-Box.. I was so stupid. I should just have given them the stupid game. But back then.. I said no."

His voice breaks now, in the end. He doesn't have to continue. The four boys have been in enough fights already to know how it all turned out.

"Michael saw what happened. He fought them off. I've never seen anything like it. But.. it was too late." The tears come now, tracing down his skinny face, and splash on his hands. His voice is soft when he continues. "Niklas says it is my fault. And he is right. They never meant to kill anyone. They never got blamed, too. His father has much influence on the politics here... It all happened behind the heap, no one saw it. Almost-"

Raphael growls deep back in his throat. It sounds like a wolf ready to kill. But Tobias doesn't hear him. He keeps on going, even while his eyes slide closed and his voice fades into a whisper. "He helped me a lot, Michael. Tried to convince me to tell the police. But I wouldn't.. Niklas said he'd kill me too.. and my baby sister... What should I do.."

His body slumps against the back of the sofa. "Leo", Donnie says, his tone a warning that breaks the unnatural silence like a shattering mirror. "He's going into shock. Keep him talking..."

"No." Leonardo stands up, slowly, and starts for the door without looking back. "_You _keep him talking. _I _am going out there now and do something before anyone else comes to harm."

Mikey and Raphael don't have to be asked to come along. They reach the door alongside their brother. Next to the door, the Leader scans through the purses that hang on the wardrobe. His sense of respect for the owner is replaced by white-hot fury. Finally, he finds a cellphone and scrolls the phone book until he finds 'own number'. He shows it to Mike. "Tell Donnie how to reach us." Then he slips the hot-pink device into his pocket.

"We still wear pajamas", Raph says. Leo doesn't even turn around as he puts on the shoes from the day before. "Just saying", his brother mutters as he follows the lead.

Mikey comes back and silently does the same. It is only moments later that they leave the house and break into a run.

_Someone's  
gonna  
pay.

* * *

So there you have it. The dark, dark secret is revealed. Niklas should better run and hide before I forget myself and write him dead. On the spot. I'm not too happy about Tobias' story tho, so if you have any suggestions what to do better, tell me and I'll edit it over before I update tomorrow. Thanks.  
_


	22. Gunshots And Sirens

_I think it is time to let the story come to a conclusion. We still need to get the boys home, don't we? .. I wonder.._  
_Warning, there will be violence in this chapter. And blood. I'm in a bad mood today._  
_In this chap, Leo and Mikey and Raph, Liza and Michael, Don and Tobias, and Splinter and April each have their own stuff to worry about. It's gonna be one heck of a chapter, maybe two, and then we can finally all live our lives again and be happy._

* * *

_These four walls, they whisper to me_  
_They know a secret I knew they would not keep_  
_Didn't take long for the room to fill with dust_  
_As these four walls came down around us_  
_[Hannah Montana - These four walls]_

* * *

**Chapter 22**

"I have no idea where to start looking", Leo says. The fury he felt before is still there, dwelling in the back of his head, and he knows he should meditate on this issue and work it out and get over it. But right now, he doesn't have the time. Truth be told, he feels quite okay with hating Niklas for a while longer.

It's really too bad that the three of them don't know where to start looking. And going out in the snow with only their silk pyjamas on was not their best idea, either. Mentally, Leonardo slaps himself in the face.

"Let's go back ta da alley 'n look fa clues", Raph suggests.

They make their way into the direction of the pharmacy.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Welcome to my home, sweet home", Niklas says.

He turned on the light in the small basement room. Liza is still blinking from the sudden shock of light. Now that they can see, the situation looks even mroe desperate than in the dark. Both of them are bound to the wall with thin wire. The small room is cramped with old furniture and book boxes. Despite their various cuts and bruises, Michael just cut his wrist when he tried to break his restrains in the dark. A small trickle of blood finds its way down his arm and colors his shirt red.

"It's such an honor to have you here for my party." The boy's voice is dripping with irony, and all of a sudden Liza wants to bite him to wipe that smug look away. She's quite surprised about herself. "But it really is a shame- there is some of you missing", Niklas goes on. Both Liza's and Michael's eyes snap to his face, and the girl feels desperation tugg at her very soul when their enemy pulls out a cellphone and flips it open. "Let's see if we can invite them."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The phone rings.

The sound breaks through the uncomfortable silence of the big mansion and calls down the hallways. Rrrrrring. Rrrrrrring... Rrrrring.

With a moan, Donatello opens his eyes. He's just gotten comfortable on the mattress next to the door, the one Leo used last night. It still smells of his brother. Tobias' head appears over the armrest of the sofa; his bruises are deep purple now, and his left eye is swollen. Still, he seems to be concerned about Don's condition. "I'll go get it", he says and then discovers that he actually only has to stretch over the back of the couch to reach the phone on its hold. "Here we go. Hello, May's mansion, how can I help you?"

He sounds tired and strained. Don would love to get up and help him, but his body feels heavy, and everything is packed in cotton. Not a good sign. He remains silent.

"Niklas", Tobias hisses and Don sits up with a flinch. "What do you want? I am sleeping."

Dude, Don thinks, if that was an attempt to sound cool, you so failed. As if he heard him, Tobias shoots him a look. "No they are not here. What do you want?"

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"Understood, bro. Thanks for the info. No, we got it. Go back and get some rest." Mikey is talking into the small pink cellphone Leo took from the mansion. Don just gave them a call to inform them on Niklas' newest plan. "He wants to invite us to some kind of party", Mikey delivers the message. "I guess we're gonna head there and check it out." He sounds happy and worryless, as if this all was just the planning of their evening activities, but they all know what's on stake. "Let's go", Raph growls and turns into the new direction.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"I have no idea what kind of device that is", April O'Neil says with a frustrated sigh. They arrived in the Lair yesterday and ever since the news reporter and scientist has been looking at Don's machine, but so long without success in any case. "You are right, tho. It's humming." And the boys are still missing. "You know", the redhead tries to keep her tone casual, "maybe I should accept your offer and take a look at Donatello's blueprints."

Splinter didn't miss the worry in her words. "Very well", he says and his walking stick clacks on the floor. "Follow me."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"I like Liza's home better", Mikey says as they reach the described building. Raph is very tempted to whack him for that, but he concentrates his annoyance on the matter at hand. There is plenty of time to hit Mikey, later, after all this is over. The thought draws an evil grin on his face. "Led's get dis over wit'", he says and cracks his knuckles.

Leo stares up the front wall of the ruins they were lead to. The former sand-colored stone is ripped and broken. Only two of the windows still have glass in them, and the fence and garden are a mess of weeds and dirt and splinters. He supresses a sigh. _This screams 'trap!' three miles against the wind, _he thinks. _But it's not like we have a choice._

The front door is one of the few things about this place that still seems to be taken care of. Another concerning point; there'll be no going back once they are in. _I wonder if this is really where Niklas lives, _Leo thinks. _Not that it matters much. As I know our luck, the building will probably collapse on top of us. _Aloud, he says, "all right. Let's go in."

Before they even got up the entrance stairs, the door is opened.

"I am so glad you made it", Niklas says and grins at them over the tip of his gun. "Why don't you get inside?"

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"I have a bad feeling about this", Donatello says, and not for the first time.

"Me too", Tobias sighs. "I wish they were here already."

Donnie shoots him what is meant to be a glare, but in his state looks like someone who really needs to sleep. "He told us not to call the police", he says and rubs his eyes. His head hurts like shell and he is longing for some water, but he can't get up, and he doesn't dare leaving the phone anyway.

"Yeah, and we're gonna listen to him because he's all saint and glory", Tobias snaps. The waiting and his bruises seem to make him cranky.

"The guys can handle this", Don tries to reason with him. The glare he gets as a response is much more impressive than his own performance just now. _Yep, definitely cranky. _He doesn't get the chance to say something, because right then a siren wails and snow splatters against the front windows. The police car arrived.

"Come on", Tobias says and gets up. His face twists in pain and he favours his right leg, but he still gives Donnie a hand. "Let's get this over with."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"I don't understand what he was planning to do", April murmurs to herself and compares the picture in front of her to the machine in the main area of the Lair. She's been doing that for quite some time now, and Splinter excused himself a few minutes ago to get some tea. He's growing impatient and needs to calm down. The woman didn't even notice.

"These ideas are amazing.. but is the maths right..?" The woman grabs for her pocket calculator again and goes through the numbers. "It's not done yet", she whispers. "But it should still work, at least partly.. I wonder..?" She stands up and walks over to the ugly machine, scratching her head. "Oh, Donnie. Couldn't you make it any harder for me?"

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"This is a bad situation", Mikey says as one of Niklas' bodyguards ties his hands behind his back. The gang leader is still pointing his gun at them.

"I was just about to say that", Raph agrees.

The pink cellphone on the table in the hallway vibrates softly against the wood, but no one answers it.

Leo's eyes dart through the dimly lit room. Outside, thick snow clouds have started to gather and the sunlight hardly breaks through anymore. _Looks like it's going to snow soon,_ the Leader thinks. His mind collects data from his surroundings. _A broken window at the other end of the room. It is put over by only a thin plastic sheet against the wind, but there are shards of glass everywhere. The door is made of solid iron with a wood paneling.. not a chance. I wonder where this staircase leads to..._

His eyes flicker over to where Liza and Michael sit. The girl's shoulders are slumped and she looks battered and defeated, but when she looked at him before she had been so full of hope.. of _confidence. As if my appearance alone is enough to make it all good. _Leo shakes his head and looks away. _I failed them all. Again. Dang it. I have to set things right._

"And now, we talk." Niklas' voice is one of sheer hatred.

Sirens wail in the distance, getting closer fast. Niklas' eyes flicker towards the door, so do Michael's and Leo's. They all frown in unison, which is a really interesting picture.

Then, snow spladders against the front wall. "This is the police", a loudspeaker voice says. Raph groans in disbelief. "Great."

"So you called the police?" The gang leader's voice shows suppressed fury. "You are gonna regret that foolish act." Right then, he reminds Leo very much of the Shredder. Except that the Shredder never had a gun pointed at Mikey's chest. Swords and sticks and cables and knives, yes, but never a gun.

"Oh no, you won't", the 'fearless' leader growls and gets to his feet. In one fluid motion, he jumps over his bound hands and thus brings them in front of him. Then he jumps Niklas.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"I hope we're still gonna be on time", Donnie whispers nervously. He insisted on coming with the police men, as did Tobias. But because of their conditions, they had to ride in the ambulance car which is slower than the police cars. Still they arrive almost at the same time.

"Get your hands over your heads and come out of the building", one of the policemen just shouts into his loudspeakers.

"Wait, you can't just-!" Tobias starts for the police car but sways and has to be hold back by the medics.

There is a gunshot.  
Then silence...

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"I think I have it", April says and finally puts her pencil aside. She looks tired and uncertain. "I know where they were sent, I think. Maybe we can just beam them back..?" She turns to Splinter who sits at the table and frowns. The rat's eyes seem unnaturally wide, and his whiskers quiver. "Master Splinter", the woman says softly. "Sensei." He focusses on her and sighs. "What is wrong?"

"I am not sure, Mrs O'Neil", the old rat whispers. "I don't know.."

* * *

_Yeah, two chaps, then. It'll all work out. I think._


	23. Goodbye For Now

_The story is racing towards the finish line. This is the last chapter.. tomorrow comes the dialogue and that's it. But I'm already planning the next volume. xD That's so me. I'm always planning the sequel before I even start to write the story down.  
Enjoy!  
Oh yeah. I finally came up with an appropriate story title. Sorry it took me so long. ^^

* * *

Music starts playing like the end of a sad movie  
It's the kind of ending you don't really want to see  
'Cause it's tragedy and it'll only bring you down  
Now I don't know what to be without you around  
[Taylor Swift - Breathe]

* * *

_**Chapter 23**

For a second, there is only silence.  
It is as if the world holds its breath and waits, stunned and in disbelief. It is deafening. Like the second before the big explosion, just without the following _Boom._

The movements come back, but blurry and as if it all were all in slow motion. Tobias' vision closes in, and he can hear Donatello panting next to him. His own heartbeat sounds unnaturally slow in his ears.

It is then that he knows with brilliant certainity that Michael is dead.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"I wonder how they activated the thing", April sighs and moves her left hand over the rough iron surface of the machine. She walks around it in a circle, both impressed and concerned, until she comes to the point where a gap openes in the metal and cables and wires stick out. "He didn't even put the control paneling in yet." Her gaze wanders over to the coffee table which is loaded with tools and nuts and screws and.. a blue-and-silver steel paneling with holes for buttons and switches.

"I don't know much about machines", Splinter answers from behind her. She turns, startled, because she didn't notice him following her. "But I do know my sons a little bit." He bends down, and his thin fingers brush over a small impact sign right next to the metal piece on the floor. "This looks suspiciously like a square kick", he mutters.

"Whoa, wait." April kneels down next to the much shorter elderly rat and looks at the mark. "Are you trying to tell me that this whole 'disappearing into another dimension' situation occured because one of the boys _kicked _this thing?"

Splinter faces her, one eyeridge raised as if he wanted to say _Did you forget who you deal with?_

April lets out a frustrated sigh. "Ah. Great."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The called-in reinforcements are not there yet. All around the ambulance car, policemen and medics are busy to build a blockade with their cars. Bulletproof gear is stripped on in a hurry.

Not fast enough.

Tobias can hardly stand, but he refuses to back down. Donatello was carried away by the medics just moments ago, all the time kicking and screaming, but it has become clear that his infection is weakening him badly. There is no life sign from the house, but Tobias stopped to care.

He just wants it all to be over.

"We're ready to go in now, sir", one of the policemen reports. The bulletproof vest underneath his thick jacket makes him look bulky. Without wasting any more time, his superior gives the signal. "Get in."

Tobias watches in passive silence as the police group kicks and shoots down the thick iron door. His head is empty. He can't grab just one of the thoughts that should be there. The policemen get into the house, and he sees one of them turn and say something, but there is no sound. It is as if someone turned off the volume switch on the remote. Even the blood rushing in his ears is silent, even though he can still feel his heartbeat in his ear-drums.

The blue jackets disappear into the hallway. Tobias doesn't care. He doesn't even know why he is still standing here. Probably because he knows that once he moves, he will break the spell and have a breakdown or something.

More silence. The men and women around him whisper to each other and draw their guns. Everyone retreats behind the wall of cars. Just in case. But there is no sound at all. The sky darkens above them and the first snow flakes fall to the ground. It seems fitting now. As far as Tobias can remember, all his life's tragedies happened in the snow. A thought starts to form in the back of his mind - _like the ending of a sad - _but it is swallowed by the blankness before it even becomes clear. It doesn't matter.

Then, after what could be only seconds, or maybe hours, because time lost its meaning, a man appears in the doorway. He openes his mouth and calls something that doesn't quite reach the redhead in the snow, but the movement of his hands cannot be deafened. He forms a ring with his pointing finger and thumb. _All clear. _And he motions for the medics to come in before he himself steps out of the house and, in a tired gesture, takes off his hat and runs his hand through his hair.

And then the other members of his group come out.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

"You should let me go", Splinter says again. His eyes narrow and he frowns at the machine, but his voice is determined.

April just shakes her head. "What if this is all a big mistake and they are just on a looong rescue mission and come back any second? What if something bad happens here? The boys need their father." She smiles reassuringly. "I am sure it'll all be fine. This is Donnie's invention, after all."

Slowly, Splinter nods, but his dark eyes never leaver her face. They look so much like Leo's that somethimes the woman wonders if they really aren't related after all. At other times, she thinks that maybe you look like this when you have too much on your shoulders.

"Is something else wrong?" the elderly rat asks when she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She shakes her head. "I just.. kind of feel stupid", she admitts. "About to kick a machine and all that. It feels like I'm a Neanderthal."

He chuckles, and this is enough for her to gather all her confidence and kick the iron plates before she can decide to chicken out. "Remember, give me an hour and then combine these cables", she says once more and points towards the said wires. Her last thought before her foot meats solid metal and she dissolves in a flash of white light is _crap, there is no way this works out._

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

One of the men helps Leo down the stairs. He doesn't really need the support, and his expression makes clear that he hates the close contact to the cops, but he doesn't say anything. He looks pretty battered and tired, but elseway fine.

Behind him, Raph and Mikey jump out of the door, taking three steps at a time. They look relieved and their hair is a mess, but othewise okay, even though they keep looking over their shoulders.

Liza is carried out by a woman, wearing her thick blue jacket. Her eyes are closed, but she forces them open as they leave the building. Almost unconsciously, her hand reaches out and catches one of the falling snow stars, and an absent smile tuggs at her lips.

And then.. They get Tobias out.

He is bruised, scratched, bloody, his hair is ruffled and he shivers badly. One of the man has a firm grip on his waist to help him down the stairs, and the medics rush forward with a stretcher to meet them.

In other words, _he is alive._

The sounds come rushing back at him, and suddenly Tobias' legs give in. He is half aware of taking Michael's hand as the stretcher is carried past him, and of Mikey laughing and ruffling his hair, and then Liza starts giggling hysterically and keeps asking Leo "how the hell you did that with your hands". He smiles at her, a tired smile, and then Don clings to his chest like he'll never let go again. Raph smirks his Raph smirk and the snowflakes keep on falling around them while someone lies an IV to Michael's arm.

And then, a red-haired woman with a neat hair bun and summer clothes storms around the corner and stares at them.

"April?" Mikey says, because he sees her first. If there was a contest for showing disbelief, he would win every price with the expression on his face. The woman's head snaps around at the name to meet his gaze, and her face mirrors Mikey's before she runs over and embraces them. And looks back and forth, but mostly at her watch.

"Guys", she keeps repeating, "I am so glad to see you all, and I definitely want to hear what happened, but we only have ten minutes left, so come on!"

That gets her everyone's attention. "Where do we go, April?" Mikey asks and tilts his head. She snorts. "Home, doofus", she says. "Splinter is sick with worry about you."

A flicker if guilt shows on Leo's face before Raph lays an arm around his shoulders. "Not ya fault, fearless", he mutters and Leo looks confused and a little thankful.

"Oh", Liza says and her hand, the hand Leo is holding, flinches back as if it burned her. "Well, have a safe trip, then. And thanks and all that."

The cheering stops. Some of the policemen and medics that are not busy carrying bruised gang members out of the ruins look over at them and frown. For a second, everyone is quiet and just looks at each other uncertainly, before April asks, "and who are you?"

"I am Liza May", the girl whispers. "Those", she points at them, "are Tobias and Michael."

"Hey, girl", Leo starts soothingly but stops when he can't think of anything. _We won't be out of the world, _he meant to say but realized that this would be a lie. "We can.. just.. always come back or something." He is not sure this will work, but all of a sudden finds that he'd love to. Mikey and Raph nod encouragingly, but Donnie is busy burying his head in Leo's shirt.

"Eight minutes, guys", April says nervously.

"I am so sorry!" Without a warning, Liza bursts into tears. "Here you are, and I got to meet you, and what happens? All this huge -stupid - mess!" with every word, she kicks the snow until her strength leaves her and she sinks to the ground, sobbing. "I never meant to get you all into this.. I am so stupid. You shouldn't have met me..."

"Now, that's not true", Raph rumbles. "We had lots of fun here." Liza blinks up to him through a layer of tears, utterly confused.

"No kidding", Mikey agrees. "I mean, we get beaten up pretty badly all the time, but at least now we can show our pretty faces in public." He grins meaningful at a passing police woman.

"What we mean is, it was great to meet you", Leo says softly. And then he picks her up as if it were nothing and puts her on an empty stretcher. "We'll come back", he whispers into her ear when he hugs her. "And then it'll be more than two days. I definitely want to know more about you, mysterious uptown girl."

April says, "Guys, I hate to shatter the lovely moment, but we _have _to get out of the crowd. _Now."_

"Bye", Liza says and waves shyly. Tobias joins her as they disappear into the next alley. They all wave back. "See ya soon", Mikey calls out. "Pinkie promise."

"Oh, by da way", Raph shouts, "w'at city is dat anyway?"

"Come back and I'll show you", she calls back and grins. He smirks before he runs around the next corner.

They can barely see a flash of white light, and then they are gone. Wet-hot tears stream down Liza's cheeks, but she lets them fall.

"Who _are _these guys?" Michael asks in disbelief and interest.

"Sssh", Tobias answers. "Rest. I'll tell you later." And he kisses him.

* * *

_Got you there, didn't I? Tomorrow comes the epilogue. I loved this story... but I'll write it all down tomorrow._


	24. Epilogue ?

_But most of all  
I'm scared of walking out of this room  
And never feeling in my whole life  
The way I feel when I'm with you.  
[Unknown]

* * *

_**Epilogue**

"I can't believe that machine actually _worked _back then_._" Donatello's voice sounds strained and irritated, but his brothers have long before come to a point at which they don't care anymore.

"Yes, Donnie. We _know. _It's a miracle." Mikey closes the book he was reading on the sofa with an annoyed _thud. _"Did you ever look into the mirror lately? Our whole _existence _is a frikkin' miracle. Just deal with another one and be _thankful _that something worked out for us _once._"

"Cranky?" his brother asks and raises one eyeridge while he carefully puts the control panel into the hole in the machine. Michelangelo shakes his head, slowly, as if he isn't sure about that himself. "I guess a little", he finally confesses. "It's killing me that I can't see the TV anymore." It is true, Donatello's invention takes all the room in front of the couch, and you can barely see the screens behind it.

Donnie fastens some screws before he looks up. "Come on, there's more to it", he says. "You have your own TV in your room." He grabs a towel from the coffee chair and polishes over the surface of the controls once more before he steps back and admires his handywork.

"I like the main area TV wall better", Mikey says and then sinks back into the cussions with a heavy sigh. "Okay, got me there. I miss dudette."

Donnie doesn't have to ask who he means. "It's strange, isn't it", he whispers more to himself than anyone else. "How fast you get used to having one person around." Absent mindedly, he runs his three-fingered hand over his bold head. He can almost still feel the strange purple hair strands between his fingers. His sickness- let it be the flu - dissolved as soon as they woke up after their first night at home. By now, after two weeks, he figured that while his mutagen normally prevents him from getting _really _sick, he can still catch the illness and carry it for a while. So he must have been _carrying _the influencia and then fell ill when his system went 'normal' because of his human transformation. At least, it is one possible solution. He had his mind full with other things lately.

"Hey there, Don." Leo enters the main area, coming from the dojo. Raph is right behind him. "Ya done with whatever kept you occupied the last weeks?" He sounds uninterested, almost bored, but Don knows that secretly he wants to hear a 'yes'.

"I don't know, Leo", he answers. "Truth be told, I am not sure what happened back in the days. The machine shouldn't have transferred us into another _dimension_, ony another timeline, and I'm not sure we can repeat that." He smirks when he sees Leo's face fall. "We can always try, though", he adds casually. "Always given the fact that Splinter allows us to." His hands automatically wander towards the two small remote-like devices attached to his belt. As long as something (or someone) is from their time and dimension, these devices will bring it back home towards the 'mother machine'.

Leo's forehead sinks into a frown. "Right now there is robbery season in NY", he finally decides and tries not to sound too miserable about that. "We can't just leave for a week." Mikey makes a face at that but doesn't say anything. Raph keeps his mouth shut, too, and Leo wonders (and not for the first time) if something happened in Germany that he missed.

"We can send a letter, though", he quickly says. "Can't we?" Don shruggs and then nodds. "Sure. I guess." And Leo goes on, "we can maybe visit her during winter time, when it's summer in her dimension. But we have to prepare for that, now that we know we can take clothes with us." _And we have to beat up the foot and the purple dragons pretty badly so that they keep quiet for a week or two._

For a second, everyone's eyes flicker towards the four black pyjamas that are nailed to the wall next to the TVs. A reminder.

"That'd be so awesome", Mikey says. "But can we get this _thing_ away from the TV screens first?"

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

I am _bored out of my mind _right now.

The snowflakes keep falling outside, just like they did _that _day. I still have a hard time to wrap my mind around what happened. Only Tobias' daily calls about Michael's condition keep me somewhat sane. This, and the thin scar on my left cheek that is almost invisible, but you can feel it as a tiny scratch in the skin. This is where the brick hit me...

Mostly, I try not to think too much about what happened in that old house. But sometimes, at nights, the images come back to me. Leo, jumping over his hands (which was _so _awesome). Niklas with the gun, and then they fell into a horrible knot of legs and arms on the floor. A gunshot breaking through the screams, and for a second the mind-wrecking uncertainity whether Leo was hurt, or someone else. Mikey's screams for his brother. I didn't even feel the brick scratching my face as it fell from the wall where the bullet had hit the broken stone. But Mikey saw it, and when I touch my cheek, the mark is there.

_Isn't it strange how fast you make people you like your family?_ My mother came back home when she heard what happened, but only for a few days. She has work to do, and I understand that. Kind of. She tried to ground me, too, but forgot about it right away all the time, so I don't really care about it. Antoine called her when I wasn't at home when he came that faithful day. He's a nice guy, but he recently confessed to me that he isn't a real cook. He got the job because of his french accent. I laughed when I heard it, because it is _so _my mum, but it makes me miss Mikey's cooking even more.

Tobias wants to come over today. We'll go to that alley where the guys first got here, because it is about time to return the clothes they took from that house. I hope we'll find it. We only have the rough directions. But it has to be somewhere more out of the villa area, because the house didn't have an alarm.

The police asked me many questions about the brothers. I am kind of glad I didn't have to lie much to tell them the story. They were four boys, brothers, from New York. They told me their last name was Hamato, yes, like the strange turtle movies (the question came later, after one of the men put the name into google). They were trained in ninjitsu, no, it's not the same like karate. Not judo, either. They helped me out, but their aunt (I had to make something up for April) took them home afterwards. I don't have a phone number or any way to contact them. (I almost broke into tears at that question.)

Finally, my door bell rings. It really is Tobias, and he tells me that Michael'll come out of hospital tomorrow, which is great news. I love hanging out with them. (I should maybe try and find some female friends too, though. Some girls from the neighbourhood think I'm pretty cool now that I'm in the newspaper and stuff, but Too wants to introduce me to some of his friends too. Amazing, it seems like gay boys really are every girl's most wanted.)

We set off to the right until the houses get smaller and less impressive. Still impressive, just less than before. Just as we walk past a small alley, wondering about what to do now, I see something small and red in the snow. My heart beats faster as I turn and walk towards it. Maybe one of the boys lost something here when they arrived_? Or -maybe it's blood from some dead animal._

It is a letter. A small red envelope in a transparent plastic bag against the snow. And on it, in a beautiful handwriting that I know is either Leo's or Don's, it says "Property of Liza May".

"Cool", Tobias says as he sees the envelope, too. He takes the clothes from me when I bend down and pick the bag up. It's not really wet yet, so it's not been here for too long.

"Yeah", I answer absent mindedly and press the bag against my chest. I can almost smell Leo again. Almost. Something hard and square pokes me, and when I look closely, I see a black remote-like device glued to the envelope. _Send back, _a small note says and an arrow points at the device.

"Pretty cool indeed."

~*The End..?*~

* * *

_For this fanfiction, I have to thank a whole bunch of people._

_I want to thank mirage studios, nickelodeon, 4kids, the first drawers, the programmers for the movie, the comicbook authors, and whoever invented and /or helped spreading the four giant humanoid ninja turtles and made it possible for us to dream with them.  
Thanks to whoever invented plot bunnies and keeps sending them to me.  
A huge, big thanks and many kisses to JoyJajabaNoid, MarieTheManiac, and all the others out there that not only deeply impressed and inspired me with their own amazing work, but also found the time to read mine and even get my friend. You are the best.  
Another thanks to __Polaris'05, Mikell, StarlightTwinkle, RaphFreak, and many others for inspiring me and helping me through hard times, ups and downs with their stories._

_To you, my dear readers, thank you for doing so. This is the first long story I ever finished in, I think, my whole life. And you read it through till the end. I really appreciate that and hope that maybe one day I can learn to make your days a little brighter and put a smile on your lips. I'll work hard for that!_

_To all my reviewers, thank you so much. I don't know what to say. You have all been extraordinarily (what a word O.0) kind to me, gave me well-founded criticism, and laughed about some of my jokes. You made me smile. You all rock! So, special thanks to_

_*JoyJababaNoid for being a nice reader, a great reviewer and a best friend at all times. For smiling with me and telling me you did. And for telling me my english is good.. for finding Leo's and Don's hair cute.. For understanding all my ideas and hints.. and most of all, for saying that 'I captured the essence of all writing'. You rock so much. x3  
*Ifbookswerefood-i'dbefat for liking Liza and for her nice birthday wishes.  
*Amy Hamato for telling me to update soon and for asking me to be her friend.  
__*mcazevedo1996 for praising 'my' version of the turtles as natural, and for blushing alongside Liza. So cute!_  
_*Inkytwilight for asking me to update fast because she likes the story.  
*ninja turtle to remind me of my other stories. (Sorry! WIIHHD is next! Promise!)  
*Mikell for joining my reviewers' community and for actually saying that she likes it. And for PM'ing me. So awesome. You are my idol, no kidding. Thanks so much for giving me your opinion.  
*Everyone for having faith in me._

_Why do all good things come to an end? Ah well. At least they found a way to contact each other. And there'll be a volume 2, all about vacations. :D They truly deserve it. I'll also make sure to write it first and have someone read it before posting it next time. Maybe.  
What else? I'm gonna write "What If It Happened Differently" now. Maybe some more songfics. I'm taking oneshot and songfic requests now, in case you are interested. Also, I am writing a story about Alternative Endings in the Episodes, one about Casey Jones (who is quite an interesting and colorful character once you start thinking about it!) and a request parody about.. well, you'll see. I love the idea, but I'm struggling with the words._

_I love you all like a fat kid loves cake. x3 Keep rocking. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't do it, because you can. Everything there is to learn about life can be summarized into three words: Life goes on._

_I hope to 'see' you soon!  
Pinguin  
_


End file.
